.
The calm of the jungle at dusk,
The soft sounds of creatures
Returning from the waterhole, spent:
Crackling branches, bodies brushing
Against dry bushes as they went.
.
Silence descended slowly as night fell.
We sat relaxed around the fire,
At ease in the surrounding peace,
Sipping our after-dinner drinks
And dreaming of the morrow.
.
ROAR!
RROOAARR! The second, a demanding bellow
Then a series of grunts to follow:
GRUNT, GRUNT, grunt, grunt, g r u n t…
Fading slowly until dead…
Silence dropped heavily back in the hollow
And we all retreated to bed.
.
©DGA 24 January 2012 09:33
24/01/2012 at 12:52 pm
Life in its many varieties … And yet it all moves as one.
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24/01/2012 at 1:14 pm
Yes, indeed. And we all have the same needs to a greater or lesser degree.
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24/01/2012 at 3:42 pm
Vividly portrayed.
Reminds me of hearing that sound next to me while I was crouched next to my station wagon trying to fix a fuse. I vaulted over the roof. Never been able to do that before or since.
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24/01/2012 at 7:31 pm
Hahaha, Col. Now that’s an idea for getting excellent results at the Olympic Games. 😀
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26/01/2012 at 2:20 pm
Hehehe….am trying to picture it.
Nope….can’t do it.
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24/01/2012 at 4:50 pm
It would take some getting used to for me to retreat back to bed…
Blessings – Maxi
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24/01/2012 at 8:04 pm
Haha, Maxi, being out in the fresh air at the game farms and/or Kruger Park is guaranteed to give you a good night’s sleep no matter what, lol! God bless you.
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24/01/2012 at 5:26 pm
I’d have been in bed, head under the pillows, doors locked and windows shuttered.. at the first Roar..lol Nice visuals Denise.
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24/01/2012 at 8:07 pm
Thanks, Jake. I don’t think the excitement would let you hide away and miss it all, lol!
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24/01/2012 at 6:40 pm
Lions and Tigers and Bears.. Oh My!
Retiring to bed would be the very last thing on my to-do list if I heard a ROAR while sipping my after dinner drink.
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24/01/2012 at 8:10 pm
At night the animal noises often sound much closer than they are, Jeannie.
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24/01/2012 at 6:42 pm
oh my…ha…yeah i might want to be quite secure in that from the things that go roar at night…nice setting of the scene before hand as well…
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24/01/2012 at 8:12 pm
Sounds do travel further ‘in the still of the night’, Brian, so the animals sound much closer than they probably are. Thanks for the compliment, my friend.
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24/01/2012 at 6:54 pm
Run inside and lock the doors, adee! 😉
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24/01/2012 at 8:16 pm
Ha, I bags the built-in cupboard, Cin! 😉
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24/01/2012 at 9:30 pm
I can actually HEAR the animals roaming the jungle. Well done!
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25/01/2012 at 8:14 am
Thanks, Hook. I wish I could write an ‘armchair safari’… 🙂
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24/01/2012 at 11:33 pm
A million miles away from a rainy British day, Denise. Thank you: this was so vivid.
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25/01/2012 at 8:15 am
Thanks, Kate. I see you’re going back into the single digits! 😦
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25/01/2012 at 1:45 am
this is so not my world, or wait a minute… you know, come to think of it, the roar of lions at dusk might just be a nice change from the kind of roaring that I am accustomed to hearing in this dog-eat-dog corner of the world I live in. 😉
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25/01/2012 at 8:18 am
At least in the wild the savagery is a part of nature and necessity… and not out of pure greed! 😦
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25/01/2012 at 8:17 am
spectacular poem, Denise. Africa as we all dream it up here in Europe.
Well written!
John
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25/01/2012 at 8:20 am
I really hope that we will be able to preserve it for the future, John, but poaching is taking its toll, especially with the rhinos!
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25/01/2012 at 11:30 am
Pure, Peaceful, Calm, Coolness… Had me slipping comfortably relaxed to the background sounds of darkness,frogs, locust, and an occasional flickering crackle of the fire …..and then RROOAAR!!! Spewed What Coffee I Didn’t Inhale Out My Mouth And Nose…All Over the Monitor… Great Exhilaration. Great Poetry.
Bless You
paul
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25/01/2012 at 1:15 pm
Bwahahaha, Paul! Thank you, my dear friend… 😆 Bless you too.
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26/01/2012 at 1:14 am
Terrific imagery, Denise! ROAR!
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26/01/2012 at 7:01 am
Haha, Nancy. I didn’t know how to get the lion to spring out of the page! 😀
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26/01/2012 at 8:53 am
Takes me back to wonderful African bush holidays – dusk is the best time of the day in the bush
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26/01/2012 at 9:27 am
These are the things I will remember forever, Bb! Being in, and a part of, nature is such a blessing…
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28/01/2012 at 3:10 am
Excellent portrayal of those evenings spent in the bush camp. For a city dweller, those sounds can really be very disturbing.
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28/01/2012 at 6:53 am
Thanks so much for the visit and comment, AD. It is so nice to see you here although I couldn’t access your site yet. Anyway the link to your LD blog works now. I used to struggle before, so that in itself is an improvement.
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28/01/2012 at 4:27 pm
What, the Lion only sprang out on me? He must have wanted my coffee…
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28/01/2012 at 6:22 pm
Are you sure you weren’t drinking Lion Ale, Paul? (SA brand of beer) Oh, I see that there is a Lion Ale also in the US of A! That lion sure gets around…
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30/01/2012 at 5:54 am
Dusk in the African bush sounds wonderful but I would be a little uneasy with all that roaring. Must be an amazing experience!
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30/01/2012 at 7:01 am
It is, Selma. I thought I knew lions from other experiences, but to see them in the wild – they are HUGE, much bigger than I expected. Of course some are smaller, but I was really flabbergasted by the size of these ones.
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02/02/2012 at 4:33 am
Just out of a detective story…
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02/02/2012 at 5:48 am
I love all the wildlife, Sunamu, and wish I could live in a reserve to experience them every day… That, to me, is REAL LIFE.
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