Tonight's Poet Corner: If I Were A Llama

If I Were A Llama
by Belinda Roddie

If I were a llama,
I wouldn't have enough spit
in the world for everyone who
flattened my ears against my head and
gave my furry face a scowl. And if
anyone tried to tie a rope to me, I'd drag
the sorry bastard on his belly all the way
to Machu Picchu and back,
just to make a point.

And if I were happy eating the limp
stalks of something the tourists
shoved close to my nostrils, then maybe
I'd be less of a callous mammal and live more
with my eyes half-closed rather than stark open,
worrying about the next nomad to
yank me into a fenced off unit where I
could simply squat and chew, squat and chew,
squat and chew.