The golden orb awakes from flameless inferno,
stretching its tendril across vast plains.
The night dew evaporating, even as creatures slake their thirst,
then scurry off to find shelter.
Higher it rises in a sky so blue and cloudless
but relentless, day after day.
Sapping the moisture, cracking the ground,
and leaving death in its wake.
Nothing grows, nothing moves, barren emptiness…
Sounds unlike any other, the sound of defeat.
The dust rising to choke any breath taken.
The carrion watchers waiting
no item disregarded.
Theirs is this world, the world of only survivors,
Who adapt to the arid land of extreme heat and coldness.
Skinks metabalising fats and storing supplies camel-like,
birds constantly flying, searching for waterholes.
Day after day, no respite, no shade, no cooling breeze to restore a flagging soul..
Weary fight to stay alive but ever hopeful of the day a small,
but significant, cloud passes over head…
The plain falls silent….
So silent….
Then just one, then two ….and more and more
Drops from heaven
Faster, violently throwing itself with reckless disdain on the parched land,
The sound of the clash of life on the dying earth,
Small flowers and seeds waiting to take advantage to bloom and
Ripen in double time.
Drinking up, guzzling up, in a crazed, and desperate passion,
and knowing they will see tomorrow because of
the blessed, blessed rain
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
i think you mean " to cause to abate" [slack/slake] in line 3 a fast-paced account of life and death in a desert. i'll take a dessert, not a desert! ! ! chocolate, please. too bad PH joins some of your words to others. ; ( bri :)
Hi Bri, you are absolutely correct I can see from the date this was submitted that it was one of the first I submitted and I was pretty ‘green’ about how to edit pieces then but that has hopefully improved over time, another frustration with PH is that it often ‘times out’ before comments are written and they are then lost grrr! Thanks again Bri x