22.
the horse penetrated the tide of the mountains
to burst full speed into the sea of the desert sands
open space
majnuun hugged the horse as it strode
renouncing the tragedy of the past few months
returning to something unknown yet familiar
surely the desert understood
what it meant to be betrayed
and moving through its silence
majnuun could feel the desert’s sympathy
when no one else understands you
you can come to cherish
the silent understanding of sand
as the horse began to tire, it slowed
majnuun sat up
yielding his sight to the expanse of the horizon
until two obscure figures caught his eye
prancing in a whimsical rhythm until
they suddenly stopped
fearing they might need help
majnuun steered the horse in that direction
as he neared the figures, the terrain dipped
as it rose again,
he saw a man with a dagger exposed
standing above two gazelles entrapped in a snare
the man’s hand was upon one of the gazelle’s necks
ready to slit its throat
“pause!”
yelled majnuun
“let them go
as one who has traveled from afar
you must entertain my request as your guest
consider them a meal well served to me
my greedy belly sated although they still
have their breath
thus, we can enjoy their beauty
and you spare yourself from sin
“oh, in their eyes i see
the gaze of my beloved
their flesh should be kissed
not cooked and chewed upon
let them go in peace
so their splendor may help fill
the vacancy of the earth
and touch your own heart with compassion”
the hunter was moved
he had never had such an encounter before
the idealism of the stranger’s words was alluring
but then the harshness of his circumstance
reclaimed the forefront of his mind
so he spoke
“what you say marvels me
but i am poor with a family
this being the only game
caught in over two moons
should my family continue to starve
for your beautiful thoughts”
instantly,
without thinking
majnuun dismounted his royal horse
and gave the reins to the hunter
“neither is this horse to be eaten
sell him for the life of these two gazelles
the price gained yours to keep in full”
the hunter smiled and rushed off with the horse
lest the foolish stranger change his mind
the royal horse was surely worth more
than two desert gazelles
majnuun bent by the gazelles
stroking their heads as he looked in their eyes
“behold, within these spheres of sight
the velvet of the night within the sun’s light
oh, that i could evoke the eyes of my beloved
like i now witness your stares”
touching the forehead of the first gazelle,
as if blessing it,
majnuun loosed it from the trap
it sprang a short distance away
looking back at its companion
majnuun blessed that one too
and then set it free
“if i cannot be free to be with my beloved
may you at least be free to live...”
with that
the two gazelles sped away
in their prance of liberty
majnuun continued on
into the depths of the sympathetic yet harsh desert
he took note of the irony
that the only place that understood him
was a place of such cruelty
the hot sand smoldering his feet
the beating sun darkening his hair and skin
the unrelenting haze of heat stealing
the moisture from his body
his consciousness becoming lost in the
indistinctness of the unending sands
until night fell
and he found a semblance of tenderness
with the cooling moon
silent and distant,
yet compassionate nonetheless
under the shade of the moon
he continued his voiceless renouncing, purging,
and releasing
of the tragedy of the past few months
a gradual relinquishment
like the present unhurried waning of the moon
❍ ● ❍