Dragoman Poem

Poem I wrote the day we were driving to Cape Town. I read it at our going away dinner. The poem is based on Dr. Seuss’ “Oh the Places You’ll Go”

Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You're off on Florence!

You're off and away!

With banner flip-flapping,

 you'll soon be riding high!

Ready for anything under the sky.

Ready because you're always up for a try

You have gear in your bag.

You have charge on your phone.

And maybe a slight tear

As you say 'bye' to home.

You've joined up with Drago. And whether you know it or not,

Thomas will make sure you're up before a quarter to not.

You'll be given some tasks,  do them with care.

About some you will say, 

"I'd rather drink the beer over there."

With your hands full of dishes and your arms going flippity flap,

You can't hardly wait for your next on board nap.

And you may quickly find that

Your mat is too thin

In that case, of course,

It's on the road again!

It's opener there

in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen

and frequently do

to people as adventurous

and willing as you.

And then things start to happen,

don't worry. Don't stew.

Just go right along.

You'll start happening too.

OH!

THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!

You'll be seeing great sights!

You'll spot the big five

But suffer bug bites.

You won't lag behind,

As Denford keeps you well fed

Sounds in the night may have you running for bed.

You'll pass border after border,

With visas galore,

Be sure to set up your tent far from a snore

Wherever you drive, you will witness great things

Wherever you go, you'll be so happy you sing. 

Except when you don't.

Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so

but, sadly, it's true

that Bang-ups

and Hang-ups

can happen to you.

You can get diarrhea

Or a thorn in your toe

Your tent might rip

And you just don't know

And when you're in a Slump,

you're not in for much fun.

Un-slumping yourself

is not easily done.

But Helen and Tom 

will fix you right up

And the chances are, then,

you'll be out of that Slump.

You might come to a place where the streets are not marked.

Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.

A place you could strain the alternator and stick a tire

But do not worry, Adam will get you outta the quagmire.

Trusty Florence will continue

And you'll start in to race

down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace

and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space,

headed, you hope, toward a most beautiful place.

The soul-filling place...

A place where locals love to smile

Where the vista stretches a mile

A place where sunsets glow

And wildebeest migrate to and fro

A life-changing place...

The top of a peak that challenged your grit

A sand dune that points out you're not so fit

A Savannah where herds of antelope roam

Aquamarine water that sparkle and foam

A desert with stars that shine so bright

A canyon you peer at from a dizzying height

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!

There is food to be eaten

There are tours to be run

And the magical things you can do with your time

Will provide memories far superior to this rhyme.

Except when they don't

Because, sometimes they won't.

I'm afraid that some times

Things will go wrong

Things so unexpected

That you'll stop humming your song

And when things go wrong, there's a very good chance

you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.

There are some, down the road between hither and yon,

that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go

though the weather be foul.

On you will go

though lions do prowl.

On you will go

though the hungry hyenas howl.

Onward up many

a frightening creek,

though your arms may get sore

and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will travel,

And I know you'll go far

and face up to your problems

whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course,

as you already know.

You'll get mixed up 

with many strange tongues as you go.

But remember when you step off of the truck

To smile and to wave

Grab water and TP

But mostly just behave

For the dragoman crew will have your back

Even if you go careening off track

And will you succeed?

Yes! You will, indeed!

(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

So...

be your name Lewis or Lucy or Luti

or Mordecai Ali Van Allen diFrutti,

You're off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your journey is waiting.

So...get on your way!