Out on the plain lies abandoned

a hay rake with its hand-hewn teeth
pulled and a vodka bottle emptied
of its drug. Rain is blowing down
from the Altai and beats the sides
of a pup tent two Kazakh boys
entangle beneath. The camel herd
with humps erect stands wet
in the dark. Lightening strikes,
thunder rolls, and their dog with a
lion’s main whimpers and moans.
The dampened air is perfumed
with mown grass and warm manure.

First published in The Fourth River “The Queering Nature Issue”

Location: Mongolia

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