Relapse

I’ve had a storm brewing in my head
Oppressive waves of heat
Pushing me down, sticking to hot putrid tar roads
Suffocating like a blanket –
The deadly calm of listlessness.

Even dry bones faded away to dust
can with the ghosts of hollow grins
tell you
A sure sign of storm stirring
Thunder bear, his mild stretches blurring into a mad frenzy
Crackling flashes leap together and dance in the sky.

The winds, whispering and moaning at first
Soon come screaming in
Snorting and bellowing, an enraged bull
Kicking up clouds of black earth
Determined to punish the impudent teaser.

Yes, the crumbling skeletons
Older than time
Intricate patterns imprinted on sediment
They will let you know.

More still, more silent
More howling wrath
Furiously beating
Screaming in ears, sand grating in eyes
Gravel flung against soft unprepared skin.

Don’t be fooled
It’s only a matter of time
Trust us, we’ve seen it all
We’ve been here since the beginning of time
Only invisible
because the winds, the sand have whittled us clean
Smooth, shrinking, polished...
dirty and masked.  buried.  Raped.