Sands of Desire

I ride beneath a sun that scorches gold,

Each mile a prayer, each shadow born of flame.

Her whispers haunt the dunes—so soft, so bold,

A phantom muse I chase without a name.

My father's voice, a wind against my back:

"Beware the well whose depth can drown the light."

Yet still I press along this endless track,

Drawn by her glinting eyes, her dark delight.

But at the ninth, the sky begins to crack—

The mirage fades, the moon displaces sun.

Her well is cold, no balm for what I lack,

A hollow echo when the thirst is done.

Still I endure, though heat and heart may sever—

To seek the stream that sings of love forever.