Memory

my spirit stood there
in the breath of life
eyes closed
inhaling the wind

shed its billowing cloak
let it fall and blow away behind it
and rushed, naked, out to the horizon
racing the swift air over the dunes
like music at the end of a movie

freedom laughed at death
who looked upon her with the eyes of a lover
pitying the love that has lost her mind -
the innocence of a forgetful child
oblivious to the fate which awaits her

and the sunset howls in the voices of old men
who sing by the crackling fire
even as angels hang stars in the sky
and the sand softens, cool with evening

losses are easily covered by the earth
but the dream is still remembered

the cord plucked
leaves behind a tone
a water drop whose ripples are a melody
and the melody haunts the desert forever