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