Session 6: Desert and Dream

It's been a while since the last session, and yet I've only got two more pieces to add, but I like them. Need a bit of working over, but I think there's some good potential in these protoforms. "Voices in the Desert" comes most directly from my recent re-discovering of the Dune series, couples with my own longing to sort of retreat into the desert and just explore for a time, away from the world. It's sort of a cross-roads poem in theme. "Eres mi mitología" comes from my finally landing my personal white whale in a way, if you'll pardon the allusion to a novel that I have never read and probably never will. I'm not sure what to make of the structure, which is halfway between an allusion heavy Victorian style and a more Neruda-esque naturalist bent. Might need to resolve that split at some point.

I. Voices In The Desert

The air shimmers, hazy,

Blinding me with the bright color

Of a dream,

And suddenly before me—

Burnt flint, lingering on the breeze,

Endless fields of scorching gold,

Racing away from me in all directions

Until it hides beneath the curve of the world.

Desert.

There is a voice to my left.

It is shaytan.

There is a voice to my right.

It is an angel.

There is an almighty roar behind me.

It is the worm.

There is infinity in front of me.

It is mine.

“Come this way,” shaytan whispers:

“It is the path to immortality.

It is the path to glory.

It is the path to dreams.

Come this way,

I shall guide you,

And you will reside in

Iram of the Pillars,

You will drink the wine of the jinn,

And sit upon a throne of gold.”

“Come this way,” the angel whispers:

“It is the path to immortality.

It is the path to peace.

It is the path to dreaming.

Come this way,

I shall guide you,

And you will dwell

In the gardens of Paradise,

The houris shall bear your cup,

And you shall sit upon an alabaster throne.”

The worm roars behind me,

Beckoning me with the sweet aromas

Of his hot breath, voiceless:

“Come this way,” it seems to say:

“It is the path to desiring.

It is the path towards harmony.

Come this way,

I shall guide you,

And you shall dwell

Atop the restless dunes,

The prey will never be scant,

And a throne of bone and bramble shall be yours.”

I pause.

I take a step to the left.

I turn away.

I take a step backwards.

I turn away.

I take a step to the right.

I turn away.

I take a step forward.

And another. And another.

Without a path. Without a guide.

I decide upon infinity.

II. Eres mi mitología

Eres tú el fénix;

Eres tú el valle de Shangri-La.

Eres tú lo inalcanzable;

Eres tú el dominio del sueño.

Eres tú la poesía encarnada;

Eres tú el éxtasis del delirio.

Eres tú el beso de la inmortalidad;

Eres tú la rapsodia de mi alma.

Son tus labios el resplandor del sol;

Son tus ojos la exhalación del la tierra.

Es tu cuerpo el lienzo del cielo;

Es tu corazón la tintura del paraíso.

Y yo,

Soy yo nada.

Nada sino tuyo.