Am I real?

The deceptively simple
Gushes out of me
Finally

....dangerously.
****.

The desert eats me
Just when I see my
Self

I walk, like Don Quixote,
stumbling drunk
On hope that
Over the next hill
An oasis affords rest

Wanderers like me
Forget friend, follow foe
Running from
Loneliness, regret

We are parched
The sun has baked through
Tattered rags I cling to,
Hide behind

What led me here?
I only remember thirst.
My lips bleed as I tell myself
"Press on"

I sought forgiveness
Mecca, some holy place,
Where I might reclaim
The sparkle I now see
In mythic treasures

...Did I once sparkle?
My feet trail prints in sand
Landmarks blur
False epiphany, hope
Stole me from the path

When you look at me
I see hope in your eyes too
Your mouth wet,
Thirsty even,
To have found me.

Am I back? Are you finally
Leading me home?
I weep at the sight and rush,
Sand flying, feet aflame

...but always I trip
You are gone, the last flickers
Of your eyes shifting away
As you realize I'm a visage in the
Desert sunset

I am left again to endless
Grains of sand falling
Marking the fleeting
Strength and sanity
That leaves to chase you, chase me,
Chase something that will last.

Am I the mirage of your
Once-present companion?
Or are you some angelic vision,
Delusion I crave,
Some taste of an end to
This trek that has worn bone down

Am I real or just another
Flickering light in
This desert where
Illusion and thirst for
Healing

...stand on the horizon before me,
Glinting between rags, tears,
And the echoes of my
Infinite footsteps
In the sand