Dunes Poem by Simon Lawson

it was just a few words
tied together in a disgruntled sentence
hardly ill-meaning,
with
much unsaid,
but enough.
So small that a stronger spine wouldn't have wavered.
If I were strong
that something small
would have never been said


if I were strong

but I am not.
And now
as I lie
I am drawn from this world
and into the Namib Desert.
Red sand swallowing my feet
I am here
to climb my dunes of despair
my hands and feet and knees
sinking into the crest
then an unsteady, choked breath
then sliding
through red sand
into the dune slack.
I must wade through the sand
stumble until the next crest
and the next
and the next
until the fury drains away
and the grief
and the broken have run their course

it was just a few words
tied together in a disgruntled sentence
hardly ill-meaning,
with
much unsaid,
but enough.