checkpoint to oasis
On the edge of the sea you can’t drown in
There is a shore
Where people are naked as we came.
Cold springs of water
Give them relief
From the burning sun of August.
Sink holes in the ground
Reminds them that the land
Will swallow us all.
He lives there under a palm tree
The sound of the bells
Wrapped with a string around his shoulder
Signals to the jackals
He is coming.
He feeds them with remains of battle rations
From the military base up the mountain
Where soldiers are looking from above
At the lowest point on earth
