Desert Flame

Heat drinks the day    
and the low blow  
of a slow minute      
scorches breath  
--a scorpion's sting  
to drug the moment  
        
The demons awake  
with a jolt    
Thin lines of red ant slaves      
scurry through veins    
Camel train memories      
bear torture for the heart  
At my pain oasis  
where you still reign    
they vie to gorge their queen      
on yesterday's ruthless chemistry    
while the jinns of lonely  
squirm and scream  
for grace to drown in sand    
 
Such helpless spells from our past      
draw blood at my future's edge    
Still conjuring your mirage      
they devour unwary passions    
then lure me to that place    
only you and I may dwell  
beyond the sigh of dunes  
chasing love's lost echoes    
more distant and wayward  
than the stars