i dreamt a dream
of swirling sands
of thirst
of crawling
across the arid land
in dire need
of something
undefinable
primal
necessary
yet incomprehensible

she shimmered
like an oasis
a cool drink of water
in the middle
of desolation
where cracked
bloody lips
spilled lines of poetry
lost
in the vast dunes
of forever

above
three vultures circled
ever lower
ever closer
to eventually perch
on the branches
of a long dead dream
black eyes
seeing nothing
but the next
dying meal
the next
sacrificial offering
the peckish scraps
of wasted potential

i dreamt a dream
of awakening
yet
when my eyes opened
hot sand
spilled
from quivering lips
to fill the tomb
of solitude
filled with carvings
in ode
to the fanatical taste
of giving in
to hunger pangs
in the barren valley
of insidious sin