The Desert 2

Standing in a sea of sand,
A jagged mountain to the left,
The night crawling slowly to the right.
As the sun sets,
Eyes strain to decipher the horizon ahead.
Staggering forward,
The sand deterring every step.
Legs tire,
Thirsting for life,
For something to heal the soul.

The light fades,
Darkness comes.
Fear grasps.
A sharp pain runs down the spine,
Staggering as it continues,
As though it chokes the soul.

The sun sets,
The world around changes,
Red eyed creatures dart ahead;
Taunting with their quick movements full of energy.
No rest,
Must not lie down.
The sounds of night flood the consciousness,
The day was so bleak and lifeless,
At night there is an overwhelming presence.

Gasping at the pain,
Distraction only lasts for a second,
Focusing back to the unending quest to find the way.
Hope drives,
Doubt haunts.

Mind wanders.
Footing fails,
Falling,
The distance to the ground is short,
But the decent feels like an eternity,
The sand draws closer,
The lizard on the rock ahead snaps open its mouth and catches an insect,
The stars are bright,
Flickering with life of a million years ago,

Looking down,
Head hits the earth.
Vision spirals, uneven and queasy.
The pressure is intense,
Gasping for breath only to inhale sand and rock,
Coughing, desperately gasping for air.
Digging into the sand,
Arms curl to provide the leverage to release from torture,
They fail.
Body is exhausted and fails to release this sandy grave,
Giving in to death.

The mind wanders.
Thinking of the days before,
The dreams to come,
The hopes I have,
The realization of never fulfill them.

What does one think of during death?
Life?
Loved ones?
The flowers at the headstone?
Who will be there?
What will they think?
Will they find you?
No goodbyes?
Regret.

The pain fades,
Vision is gone,
The sounds of the world begin to disappear.
The last breath of air escapes never to return.
Darkness.
Silence.
The mind wanders.