The Antelope of My Dreams (Dik-dik)

Lyrics

[Intro]

[Verse 1]
Last night, in the dream, I stood in a clearing near acacia bushes,
Kirk's dik-dik, named by John Kirk in 1865,
that Scottish naturalist with David Livingstone.
The air at dawn, 65 degrees Fahrenheit, cool sand crunching under my bare feet.
Tiny hoof prints, paired like coins, leading to the thicket.
I reached for an acacia branch, leaves and buds still dewy.

[Chorus]
Oh, little antelope, smallest one, Madoqua kirkii,
with your elongated snout, browsing at twilight.
The musky scent from your preorbital gland,
marking twigs and grass, lingering in the East African air.
Dik-dik, zik-zik, your sharp call echoes in my sleep.

[Verse 2]
You zigzagged away at 26 miles per hour,
frantic escape from an unseen predator.
I followed the trail to Tanzania's shrublands,
early April, 5:30 AM, the sun just breaking.
Your reddish-brown coat, delicate structure,
one of the most interesting discoveries, Kirk said.

[Bridge]
Pemba, you interpreted it this morning over tea.
The dik-dik means listen to the small alarms,
the musky marks are boundaries we set in dreams.
Not to run, but to mark our own twigs.

[Verse 3]
In the savanna's heat, 85 to 95 degrees by day,
you hide in the shade, selective with your food.
Flowers and buds, no water loss at midday.
I woke with sand between my toes, the scent on my hands.

[Outro]
Dik-dik of my dreams, John Kirk's find from 1865,
Pemba says it's a sign to zig without zag.
Musky twilight, cool earth, your call lingers.