I looked around,
and saw an endless horizon of sand dunes
next to where I stood I saw a sand pit
and thought I glimpsed a white glint of moon
reflected on a puddle of water
I started to dig deeper,
and quieter and darker it grew,
like the iris of the eye held in old memory.
after a long tunnel of darkness,
I thought I saw the light,
fleeting away like a rabbit.
and when I caught up to the other side,
I found a small kid with a crown on his head
the small prince asked if I’d seen a red fox.
I nodded and passed him by
then sat by an old pilot nearby
and borrowed a lighter.
As I flicked it on,
I saw a flare lighting up instead,
growling amber like a burning jacket held
in the hand of an old withered man
leading a long line of lost ones
in a dark and bitter winter.
when I woke up,
I saw the sunlight sparkling in a glass cup.
I took a sip of water,
and went for a run by the river,
leading to the ocean of an endless horizon.
9.17.2024
Ralph with Coffee 