Relief in the Dunes
Kalen Schack
The liquid steel sand burns the man’s
calloused feet as he sinks, again and again, a little
deeper each time, into the mountainous dunes. The
wind brushes the grains from the crests of their
mothers, to transport them to their new herds.
Unable to avoid the steep ascent, he climbs upward
in futility, making only inches of ground with each
plunge of his foot into the arid ocean of sediment.
The heat pounds and penetrates his wavering clothing.
A rag is tied around his head, leaving only a
slot for his eyes and sacrificing itself, absorbing
the radiation that would otherwise roast the hair
on his neck. Two sunrises without water leaves his
mind scrambled and loosens his muscles’ grip on
his brittle bones. The nature of the sand does not
allow his knees to tremble, as any movement drives
him slightly deeper.
Reaching the crescendo, he dryly exhales
and coughs as the sun slowly drains into the sand.
The force of his depleted cough makes him double
over. His head and chest thud against the dense
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