The silence,
expanding without bound
in the space between breaths;
Weightless, not so much living as
a witness to life passing by.
And she wonders where it has all gone,
as her hair falls out,
her bones grow brittle,
her skin shrivels in shame
And she gazes to the distant west
At burning embers of dusk,
Another reminder of the inexorable,
And all that left her behind.
Wondering where are those people,
that spoke to her,
that were her friends,
that were her enemies,
that acknowledged her,
that affirmed her as real,
that said they would stand by her,
that now leave wisps of smoke,
drifting over the frothing sea;
Wondering why they call to her now,
why they shimmer like a mirage in the desert sun,
why they gleam in the ethereal twilight,
why their ghosts leave her in rapture,
why they drive her mad with unfulfilled hope,
why they turn away as soon as they look at her,
why they continue to see each other
but she became invisible to them;
Wondering what was wrong with her,
what she had done to turn them away,
what words had left them aloof,
what actions had left them unsettled,
what she had left undone,
what one thing she could have done,
to make them stay behind.
And she whispers,
her breath curdled by the years,
her words acidic with longing,
a silent plea ringing in her skull,
"Take me with you."
And she gazes over the skeleton coast,
rippling sand dunes thick with fog,
silky apparitions emerging in focus,
glassy and ephemeral,
she feels their touch,
warm as the salty breeze,
they draw her out,
and she begins to fly,
dancing, laughing,
the night swallows her,
she is with them,
she is perfect,
she is happy,
she is whole.
Then the streams of mist swirl into the midnight sky,
As if she were never really there at all.
This piece was inspired by the surreal desert landscapes of Namibia and the real-life Skeleton Coast.
Chrysalis 