Rider

An earlier version of this poem appears in my poetry collection, Visions and Memories, published in 2021 by Sweetycat Press. Available on Amazon

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Alkali sands shine white hot under a blazing azure sky

Your eyes tear to stare even a moment into the vastness

On the far horizon a speck appears

Slowly growing larger

Bobbing up and down

Shimmering in the heat waves rising from the desert floor

A rider

Approaching.

Slowly drawing nearer

Inexorable

You look away

Then back for the short time your vision can stand it

The apparition grows ever closer

Gradually the form becomes more distinct

Outline of a hat

Gentle movement of mane, flanks, tail

Dark

Foreboding

You wonder who he might be

Where he comes from

Why he insists on coming your way

You feel recognition

Yet cannot recall a time or place

You may have met

Or not

Yet you sense familiarity

Expectation

Connection

You stand transfixed as the rider draws near

A dryness permeating your mouth

Like cotton sucking out the last traces of moisture

While small beads of sweat form around the line of your hair

The rider stops before you

Dust settles as the horse pauses

Silence ensues

You can hear the sand grains crunch under the horse’s hooves

The rider speaks no words

The dust of the trail lies heavily on his dark coat

Saddle leather squeaks ever so faintly

His dress gives no clue as to his identity

Nondescript

Not good

Not evil

But... final

And you realize in that moment

The rider has always dogged you

Followed your trail

Been your companion

And every day, every word, every action

Has led to this reckoning

When you face the nameless, faceless

Rider

Knowing that, regardless of manner or moment

Your time has come

By Mike Turner

From: United States

Website: http://www.miketurnersongwriter.com

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