Dogs 2020


xv(2/19/2020)
“are you
lost?”
a woman’s
voice carried
from the
roadside
“do you need
help?”
the same
questions
had been
asked of him
so many times
before he came
to the desert
back
in those
days
Faris wandered
city streets
instead
searching
for a sense
of purpose
other
than the hike
never lost
physically
just confused
spiritually
by most matters
worldly
all of those
social constructs
that mattered
so much
even though
they were created
out of nothing
by mankind
and would
fade to nothing
without constant
human
creation
recreation
how could
such phantoms
figure
in his salvation
at all?
they
could not
even now
as he climbed
up
the slope
he had
to fight the
urge to turn
to respond
to her questions
as if
the world
had changed
in his absence
as if
he
had changed
as if
she offered
some alternative
to the paradoxes
of his past
she did
not
he continued
his mute ascent
heard a faded
sigh
of disgust
as the vehicle
started
continued
its journey
leaving him
alone
there
to reach
the ridgetop
only then
to turn
to watch
metal
plastic
rubber
flesh
all
become
one
on the
distant
horizon