I rose from where I had lain upon the soft slope of the dune shook the fine grains of sand from my cloak from my hair from my beard The world was vast and empty the dunes rising and falling in great waves of gold and rose and white their shapes softened by the light of dawn the wind moving gentle among them carrying with it the voice of the desert the endless song of emptiness and time

I walked slow upon the sands my feet sinking into the fine grains the world around me silent save for the soft whisper of the wind the faint sound of my own breath the quiet thud of my steps The desert was a place of endless light and shadow the dunes shaped by the unseen hands of the wind the air filled with the warmth of the rising sun The horizon wavered in the distance the line between earth and sky blurred by the dance of light the shimmer of heat that even in the morning began to rise

As the sun climbed higher the world became a sea of fire and light the dunes sharp and bright beneath the fierce sun the sky pale and hard and endless above The sand burned beneath my feet the air thick with the weight of heat the wind hot upon my face carrying with it the fine dust of the desert the taste of salt and dryness the breath of the empty places

The hours passed slow and heavy the sun a white fire in the sky the world a place of light and silence the dunes rising and falling without end I paused at times in the shadow of a dune where the sand was cool where the wind moved soft and sweet where I could drink from my water and rest my weary limbs The land stretched wide upon all sides empty and vast and filled with the deep voice of the desert that spoke in silence of time without end

I saw upon the horizon the shimmer of heat the dance of light the promise of water that was not there The mirage played upon my eyes the dream of relief the trick of the desert that offers and takes away I walked on drawn by the endless road by the call of the horizon by the voice of the land that spoke in light and wind and sand

By midday the heat was beyond words the sun fierce upon my head the air thick and still the wind a breath of fire The dunes glared white beneath the sky the sand burned my feet the light blinded my eyes The world became a place of fire and shadow the line between day and dream blurred by the endless light the endless heat the endless emptiness

I wrapped my cloak about my face bent low against the wind the sun the burning breath of the land I walked on my steps slow my breath deep my heart steady against the weight of the desert The hours passed the light changed the sun fell slow toward the west the shadows grew long upon the dunes the air cooled with the breath of evening the world softened from white to gold to rose to deepening blue

I came upon a place where the dunes fell away to a flat plain of hard earth cracked and bare where ancient stones stood half buried in the sand their shapes worn by time their faces marked by the wind The air here was filled with the silence of ages the weight of the years the voice of the earth that spoke in stillness I walked among the stones my steps slow my heart full of wonder touched the rough surface of the rock felt the heat of the sun held in the stone the strength of the land beneath my hand

Night came slow and soft upon the desert the stars bright above the darkening land the wind cool upon the sand I built a small fire of thorn and dry grass watched the flames rise watched the sparks drift up into the night the shadows dance upon the stones The scent of smoke filled the air the sound of the fire soft in the stillness the voice of the wind low and sweet I lay upon the warm sand watched the stars wheel above felt the peace of the desert the vastness of the empty places the strength of the land beneath my back the endless sky above my face

In the days that followed I walked deeper into the fire sands where the dunes rose higher the sands finer and whiter where the sun burned hotter where the wind sang louder where the world became a place of light and shadow of silence and time The desert taught me patience taught me humility taught me the value of each breath each step each drop of water each moment beneath the endless sky I became part of the land of the light of the wind of the silence that lives in the heart of the world

Each morning the dawn came slow upon the sands painting the world in hues of gold and rose and white the air cool with the breath of night each day the sun rose fierce and white upon the land each evening the light softened the world turning to gold and shadow the stars bright upon the dark sky the wind soft upon the sand The desert became my home my teacher my companion my mirror I walked upon the sands and the sands walked upon my soul