The Desert

A new love

I have been a desert

all of my life. 

Burning isolation in the day

and freezing cold at night. 

I have no trees to comfort me.

No raindrops to kiss my hands.

When I cry, I have no tears,

just the hum of wind across my sand. 

And then one day

there was you. 

In all your glory

that men aspire to.

You happened upon me 

as you were floating by,

and wanted to reach your hand

down from the sky. 

To caress the curves

of my windblown hills. 

You wanted to touch me,

and I wanted to bend to your will

because I was lonely

in my lifelong solitude. 

I thought that someone could save me, 

and maybe that someone 

could be you. 

I hoped you would always float above me.

To shield me from the sun.

That you could keep me warm

when the night grew cold,

and let me feel your voice 

in my lungs.

And so it was,

or we thought it could be,

as you grew in size 

to cover me. 

Oh, how I loved 

watching you grow.

To let your cumulonimbus blanket my soul.

And I ached for your raindrops

to quench all this thirst

that I had been feeling 

since the day of my birth. 

I didn't know it then,

and I'm not sure I believe it now,

but the truth is,

you were the only storm large enough

to cool this desert down. 

And so, it began.

One drop at a time.

Each drop that hit my sand

felt infinitely more divine. 

I have to admit I felt some fear,

as people often do,

when a light rain begins to pour

and those people have to choose

to seek a shelter from the storm,

or embrace the chaos that ensues. 

And so, my choice 

was to remain.

To allow a sea of raindrops

on this solitary plain. 

And perhaps, one day, 

a tree could grow from my sand

to bridge the gap that lies between

your opaque sky and my naked land.

Reviews

[Tiffany K Charles]

The connections to the words and your thoughts are provoking and memorizing simultaneously. This is a great read. I truly enjoyed it. 5 stars for you, Fallon!!!!!!!

[fallon]

Thank you! I apologize for the late response. I wanted to be able to sit down and take in your words as you have mine. Thank you so much for reading and commenting. It means a lot to me.

[Lorry]

Your words here remind me of an island in the Scottish Isles called St Kilda. Now sadly uninhabited, but if a barren land can have beauty, then St Kilda would be a contender.
There is no one called St Kilda and varying thoughts to the names origin abound, but I prefer "sunt kelda (sweet well water) from ancient norse.
The reason it is now uninhabited is because the entire islands inhabitants all went deaf during a particularly ferocious storm, of which there was many and I guess it would be said it has a certain rugged charm, but life was brutal for its inhabitants, as there were no trees on the island at all, to give any form of protection from the incessant wind.
Removing the people for their own sake became a necessity, as too much livestock had been blown over the cliffs, so the inhabitants were repatriated to the mainland, and if you remember there were no trees on the island, so it's inhabitants had never even seen one, we're quite ironically put to employment by the forestry commission!
Anyway, enough about St Kilda and no, I don't work for the tourist board, but I do see a comparison in your words, that sometimes isolation can be good for an environment, returning to its natural state, but less so for people.
Sometimes when all we are surrounded by is isolation, even the simplest of contacts can become too big and too intense, leading to even more isolation, from fear that everything has become too big, too fast and moving at speeds we are just not comfortable with.
But by taking that first step into inclusion, no matter how fearful it may be, may very well just lead us into a day where we can begin to feel hope that it will get easier and one day we might just even find that the sun is smiling upon us.
As long as their is hope, then who knows what tomorrow can bring.

[fallon]

I love this story about St. Kilda. That very much sounds like the desert I describe. Have to admit I was laughing at the thought of the cows blowing off the cliffs. It almost sounds like an ancient story like and island described in the Odessey or something. Anyway, thank you for that beautiful story. Just your comment was a great read for me.

[Ken e Bujold]

Hello Fallon. Good friend Emmajoy asked me to read your lovely poem. Glad she did. Lovely work. here's hoping one day that tree does indeed grow into a towering oak. if this first read is any indication sandy soils of your poetic urges should bring you a life long pleasure

ken

[fallon]

Thank you so much! I believe the oak tree is growing! I’m happy you enjoyed it and happy Emmajoy shared it with you.

[emmajoygreen]

Your poem really should have dozens more reviews! Your thought to even write such a tale within this genre makes it especially unique, earth alone within a desolate world - descriptions immensely very visual. Then, those emotions involved gave a near sadness yet - feeling of hope and devotion Your one need is truly touching - just that one. A beautiful write.

[fallon]

Thank you! That is very flattering. It’s funny but it originally did have a sad ending but I changed it for one of hope!

[emmajoygreen]

I hoped so! :)

[ProphetsMother]

What a beautiful love story written using mother Earth and the Father sky coming together.. a beautiful family. Felt very natural and pleasing to read. Thank you for sharing this

[fallon]

Thank you again! How funny, but while I was writing it never occurred to me that it could be Mother Earth and Father Sky. But I love how you see that. And thank you for sharing that with me!