Dromedary

Listen. It’s not that the camel is incapable of being anything more than what it is. We know only so much straw can be placed upon the sturdiest backs before they give way to the weight. It’s more so that this grand ship of the desert plodding through the dunes guided by mirages and moonlight is actually the romanticized version of a mother from Sheboygan lugging three kids through the Costco checkout before hurrying home to make a chicken casserole. It’s correct, camels can go two weeks without water. But the celebrated humps are really mounds of fat used as nourishment so death won’t occur when there’s no food to be found. Every man thirsts and wanders his own Sahara navigating this lonely stretch of his lifetime. Sometimes he can draw upon reserves to supply himself some form of sustenance amongst the sweltering and starvation. And sometimes his own body cannibalizes itself in an effort to conceal the burn from the skin. To draw a line in the sand is to say enough is enough. To bury your head in it is to lay the groundwork for your own ashes.