Dogs 2020

ii
(1/2/2020)

a day

a day
away

six hours
there

six hours
back

all
for just
30 minutes
or so

of time
above
upon
a ridge

looking
down
upon the
highway

a pathway
between
two cities

Faris
no longer
needs
those centers
of population

does not
even need
to see vehicles
along
the road

just viewing
the smooth
surface
snaking its way
through the
dunes
was enough

knowing
that they must
still
be there

still living
their modern
lives

gives him
some sense
of comfort

but the sun
now speaks
of zenith's
passing

so he
gazes below
once again
before leaving

before
heading back
toward
his cave

as some
hermit
might have
done
five thousand
years ago

after
a similar vigil
over a heavily
trodden
camel trail

evidence
of what
had been
fled

reassurance
of the isolation
chosen

even
if not
at all times
certain