fire in her lungs
dust in her mouth
keep going,
keep going
run
to the south

yellow
and tan
footprints
in the sand
her red
converse
leave
trails

an imperfect daughter
looking for water
disappointment
follows
each step.

sand in clothes
in her hair
twixt her toes
she runs
with her red converse.

will she ever come across
an oasis, lost
or will her bones
stay hidden,
in the sand.

Oasis

Noel sits
focused
and strums
and picks guitar

a masterpiece
awakening
within his mind
within his soul
one that will
live forever

while Liam prowls
and hangs
monkey like
his hair and
beard are long
his beady eyes alive

each a spark
each a light
that sometimes
comes to blows
and fights

I shut my eyes
and listen
no other sound
compares

Soil in your palms
Seeds in its depth
Care and warmth
Water and light
Growth of life
Sprouting from the earth
Anthesis
Awake inspiration
A new home
Lush and full
Green and soulful
An oasis

I walk twenty steps, five feet
down into the darkness
of buried secrets
on the outskirts of the oasis

I walk twenty steps, five feet
in the excavation
next to the shallow ditch
which was once a pond

Discovered from the sky
vaguely marked in the sand
by odd gauge values
of the substrate

Back into the light
where a man sits
on the roots of an old tree
looking at me

Compelling, he beckons me
pointing to his water bottle
and I realise
that he knows the answers

to the questions I shall ask
when he is no longer there

Like the moment I first saw her,
Parched lips that tasted water,
Mother Nature's only daughter,
Living on the street,

In the open desert valley,
I feel her air around me,
Effortless and soundly,

One day we will meet.

A quiet room,
Tucked away,
An oasis from the crowds
And the noise.

An odd assortment
Of chairs,
But without the stress
Of the other rooms.

A safe space
In a place with no security,
A warm space,
In a cold building.

A little room,
Hidden away,
This is my safe space,
This is my room.

You'll always be at rainbow's end
Eternal *** of gold
A fairy tale told long ago
Forever I've been sold

I try so hard but out of reach
With each hand would grab hold
No need for words so please don't speak
Would never let you go

But when I give up in defeat
The cycle getting old
The hill to climb becomes too steep
Turn down 'Yellow Brick Road'

The Wizard who I wish to meet
Told he can take me home
I hear the scurrying of feet
New shadow is well known

But like they say it's "Trick-or-treat"
And both will I be shown
With me you stand here in the street
No longer I'm alone

Now found; forever I had seeked
But actions had been cloned
Reached out but this dream could not keep
Like that; I'm turned to stone

You laugh and turn off in retreat
A call without a phone
A diet forced myself to eat
These actions had been sewn

This game of love again I'm beat
And tossed like trash I'm thrown
You stole from me just like a cheat
This life I live alone

No tears to cry but inside weep
My head, the space I roam
No need to hide; Escape don't seek
From now on is my home

Old man with his Atacama tongue
dusting off stories of his youth
forty-nine knock outs he spattered out
heavy weight champion travelin' the world
stories of tribes auctioning off slaves
that they couldn't sell
that became that nights meal
pieces in a stew
how it could make a man cry and cry
oiling up trees so the lions
slide right off
tent births and baseball cards
a preacher neighbor who beat a woman
then had his teeth knock out
by the holy word
then points out his bird houses
only to dive deep into something else

"Old man" says I,
"I have to return to work
but next time I will save
your stop for last. There's
an oasis in that head of yours
and I tend to bask in it."