Saharan Storm

Late summer at dusk
We gathered by the river
To sing sacred songs
Whilst Mother Earth
Roared fearlessly
Through a fierce
And unforgiving labour

As the light dulled
By quickening clouds
Families hurried to gather their things
Wild Sahara winds
Thrashing sand and spray
From the fervently
Rippling river

Amidst the chaos
With hair lashing our faces
And clothes ravaged by the storm
We united through heart and voice
As nature’s wrath
Unleashed around us

Voices stolen
By fiery gusts of desert-hot wind
Carrying our song far away
Into darkening skies

This morning I woke
With eyes tired
From last night’s initiation

Sensing the tender caress
Of the early morning light
And bathing in the sweet melody
Of rustling leaves
Dancing playfully
In the barely-there breeze

The sun is lazy today
Morning shadows are long

Was it all a dream?

Or was this savage awakening
The labour that was needed
For the sublime radiance of autumn
To at last be born?