-- Sounding Sands -–

John Herlihy

At the foot of the rugged mountains

Lies the body of a woman in repose.

So far distant from Persian fountains,

Etched by winds in undulating sands.

The woman has lain there for centuries,

Tossing and turning with the shifting sands.

No doubt, she too suffers enduring memories,

In remembrance of all those far distant lands.

She never speaks, but quietly sings,

To fill the silence when the wind stilled.

Since ancient days, her lilting voice rings,

Even though silence can never be filled.

At first, I hear silence everywhere around;

I hear only my firm, steady heart beat.

Then, suddenly, I hear a distinct sound,

As stirring winds the shifting sands meet.

The sweet melody I now listen to and hear,

Drawn up from the sand’s deep, hidden well.

The lyric melody has the emotion of a tear;

This arid wonderland casts a magic spell.

By day, the song lost in wide open space;

The harsh light burns everything dry.

By night, mystery found in this eerie, dark place;

The sands whisper their haunting sigh.

As I listen, my body has turned to sandstone,

Carved by the wind and sand roaming free.

I begin to sense something I have never known,

Shaped by the spirit of nature invisible to see.

I begin to release everything into the past;

I listen as my outer trappings are lost.

The spirit of night entered me to hold fast,

Lifted into the stars, beyond the horizon crossed.

Accompanied by the music of the shifting sands,

Whispering, singing, humming, drumming.

Lost in eerie enchantment in these exotic lands.

To find a sleeping woman, shaped by wind, haunting,

- - - - - -

(c) John Herlihy 12 December 2018