the desert in us

in the absence of rain

and stillness of trees

the leaves long gone

wintering too soon

hushed light on my skin

the unyielding sirocco

i ponder my retreat

conquered by a spec

of sand in my eye

seduced i descend into 

thirsting crevasses 

dark openings to 

endings and pour 

like night into day

the desert in us, hushed

as a stranger's glance

calm as a shadow

but a stranger still