Dirge

Grass had become dehydrated. Trees poured out saffron. Brittle straws clung to mother earth, there was a stream of orange lawn. The soil was made of sand. It caved in and became hollow. A hole in the soil where I slept in awakening. I felt nothing first. Then a hunger rose. I ate my hunger, I walked in a dream. Dream of life. There was silence in my heart. It whispered an autumnal dirge, there was a war. And I was a wounded soldier. There was much pain. I saw dancing lights, before I passed out.

Then I stood in front of a ship. This spectre of a ship, full of passengers on board. They held golden sceptres, and drank from golden bowls, these were Kings and Queens of greater imaginations. Now they were flying apparition, but once they were here, fighting like crazy, the love of land, in power-ful human bodies. I waited out on the shore as the ship slowly anchored. Deep into the blue of an ocean of wonders, I calmly watched on to catch the Kings’ ponders. They rose from their seats and summersaulted, for they were a bunch of glowing faces in ethereal gases.

I wondered why they looked like this. Also, the phantom ship, a vessel of uncovered ribs. A telltale sign of no fleshy needs, why did they drink and eat indeed. Then I realised, I was passing through a zone of flesh and blood. The flesh was still on my bones. My memory was intact, but merging with the unknown, sublime and pure, certainly a smoke free-zone. I could breath a fresh air, in this war-fare, except there were no cries, but a stilly night. The bullets were gone, the soldiers slept at peace, in their little crypts, some had closed lids and some were bare.

Then where was I, this fuzzy maze, was I caught up in another war craze? The dances of the lights led me on, but I felt like a dunce myself in tattered clothes and all. Because, I was still wearing a soldier’s uniform, but pretty sure I didn’t need one. I felt a rush of adrenaline pushing me on, wake up, I heard a call, from mom at dawn. She came into my room, and covered me up with a patched blanket, she had been stitching awhile now.

“Wake up, wake up, you fool,” she cried out.

By Mehreen Ahmed

From: Australia

Twitter: Ahmed2Mehreen