I’ve never been to Baku,
But the rats have diamond collars,
And the milling magick-scholars
Bid for them in silver dollars,
While the mammal-hawker hollers
“Come buy my rats” in Baku.
I’ve never been to Baku,
But when desert-day is dawning,
And the bashi-bazouk’s yawning
Underneath his canvas awning,
Then a perfumed slavey, fawning,
Serves tea and cakes in Baku.
I’ve never been to Baku,
But when silver starlight’s lancing
There, the sturdy Kazakh’s dancing
And the Arab gelding’s prancing
Turns a maid’s mind to romancing
Or thoughts of lust in Baku.
I’ve never been to Baku;
But, amidst Hellenic rubble
And the alien cornfield’s stubble,
See the pander’s huqqa bubble –
feel the heat of civil trouble
Arise, in far-off Baku!
I’ve never been to Baku,
But in darkened dives there lurk men
– Hashishin and wicked dirkmen,
Whirling dervishes, berserk men,
Chechen, Uzbek, Pole, and Turkmen,
Of murder-mind in Baku!
I’ve never been to Baku,
But I’ve heard a magus chortle,
Opening a mantic portal,
Summoning a fiend immortal –
“Come, thou mighty Djinn, and thwart all
My enemies in Baku!”
I’ve never been to Baku,
But I know a lamasery
Where a lonely janissary
Riffles through the commissary,
Plunders, leaving promissory
Receipts-of-hand in Baku.
I’ve never been to Baku,
But let’s gather our blood-money,
There we’ll waste our moon of honey
Feasting on spiced figs and tunny
– Sacred shrines of Shia and Sunni
Will gleam for us in Baku!
Adding your comment:
)
Sheila
I miss the dear man for he was a fabulous author and wrote the most amusing rhyming books, ever. 
Your poem is fabulous and I love it... and it could be made into a Dr. Seuss book if it were jazzed up and made easier. lol 
Now you can shoot me. 
