Think Arizona swelter 6am 90 degrees
Think cracked mud a billion suns
dust old as rocks, dust that forgets
how a river smooths.
Think burning breath evaporated sweat
think moisture deep below this crust
but
don’t think ahead even one second
brain dizzy eyes wobbling
where am I confusion
about to collapse ‘neath a wrath
you cannot fathom but feel.
Desert solitude.
Don’t think dry.
It is the stay of hydration
sipped endless
a dozen water bottles camelbak salt sugar
sweat and piss a dream, no, nightmare.
Hydrated on the sun, an oven
try, “impossible” for
water has no master, finds
its lover in the arid sky.
This is your body, parchment of
this wrath you cannot fathom
but could feel before
dust became you.
Note the truth under your stinking rubber sole:
sand tumbled from continents,
see
oceans creeks rivers rain smash the hardened earth
know this sand has forgotten bliss.
Each grain contains blue reflections of jeweled glints
Soft eddies, fish flying up the rapids
Waterfall quenching desert wanderings
drowning the over-eager, poisoning the over-
zealous.
So slip into oblivion.
This wrath denies you a mirage
Don’t think wet
and dry heaves grant no reprieve.
Dry bones
dry bones
dry bones.
About the Creator
Mackenzie Davis
“When you are describing a shape, or sound, or tint, don’t state the matter plainly, but put it in a hint. And learn to look at all things with a sort of mental squint.” Lewis Carroll
Find me elsewhere.
Copyright Mackenzie Davis.
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An Adventure Through Hell
Emaciated arms covered by the tiniest bit of flesh capture me, holding me close to its decaying form. Gnarled and thin fingers pull my dark hair. Screams of anguish surround me, somehow reverberating from the empty chasm. I punch and watch as bits of grey flesh disintegrate into dust. Scratching at the caverns where its eyes should have been, I could only hope for an end to this hell. The sounds of torment continued, assaulting my ears with one tremendous roar.
By Isabella Rose3 days ago in Horror
Comments (13)
Wait, did I actually miss this? This is one of my favourite poems from you, what masterful craft at display here! WOW. The clever line breaks, ambitious imagery that works, the rhythm, the musicality, the careful choice of words, the singular metaphor that the whole poem is? Wow, Mackenzie, hats off. Just picking out some lines that hit me like a truck and summarise what I've said above - "dust old as rocks, dust that forgets how a river smooths." "where am I confusion about to collapse ‘neath a wrath you cannot fathom but feel." "oceans creeks rivers rain smash the hardened earth" "know this sand has forgotten bliss" "Think burning breath evaporated sweat" and my favourite (I think, although it's so hard to choose): "Waterfall quenching desert wanderings drowning the over-eager, poisoning the over- zealous." STUNNING. I will come back to this again, for sure.
Wow, this was another tantalizing piece! I love the imagery and repetitive language that really drives home the message of loneliness in a world surrounded by people. My interprets the dry desert as a sea of humanity that the character wades through, looking for a morsel of moisture or a human with a like mind. Beautifully done Mackenzie!
This is so many thinnnngggsss, I'm spinning. You've employed the text formatting so tastefully and masterfully here—the bolding of "wrath" lines totally jars me out of the nature imagery and makes me go, "wait, what am I really reading about here?" It's so clever and I'm so curious.
how did I miss this? you write so beautifully! So skillful at drawing us in! great work!
This was magnificent! It reminded me of Shakespeare's poem, Life's Brief Candle! So did an excellent job on this!
✍️💙✍️ Thank you, Mackenzie Davis! In this desert mirage, I found and felt fears forgotten of bones and death... but as I explored, the fears were swept away. In the words here, I found an oasis. ✍️💙✍️
This made me think of the whole concept that we return to dust when we’re gone, this was so good! 🖤
That's sizzling. Tripped me out for a second, thinking: I've been here before...yet something's different. I think that tops it off! I'm feeling it too...so hot.
Aaah, I can't think Fahrenheits. 90°? It's getting too perpendicular! Jokes aside, it's too too lyrical, Mackenzie. I love "Even dry heave has no reprieve. Dry bones dry bones dry bones." Gives chills. Let me get dehydrated and observe, imbibe these wobbling hallucinations.
Nicely done.
"Water has no master, discovers / its lover in the arid sky. Your body now parched / as antiquity and dust becomes you." Beautiful. I love your writing.
Why'd you have to write this so well, Mackenzie? I'm always thirsty (a gallon of water on a slow day). This didn't help one bit, lol.
This gave me a shudder! It's not my fear but it touched a spot in me. Beautifully conveyed. 👏😊💙👍