The pearls & gold bangles of lost caravans shine in the sand,
Scattered among jade charms & casks of wine in the sand.

By moonlight we watched shadows dance like the whirling dervishes.
When we woke there remained an arabesque design in the sand.

You had said this desert was once an ocean, & we heard the sound
Of waves echoing through wind, on an ancient coastline in the sand.

Shining puddles within a mirage became mirrors reflecting
Your face as it dissolved, as the air traced its outline in the sand.

The sapphire sky held clouds tinged with the hint of lilac, shaded
Like the phlox & orchids we found at a nomad's shrine in the sand.

The sky bled crimson hues, as though the sun had liquified,  
When I woke where a rivulet welled with sunshine in the sand.

At night we hear voices whispering of a peaceable kingdom,
Of the days to come, that the ghosts of prophets divine in the sand.

We watched a dust devil become a cloud of hazed light,
Across the dunes its wake was a crooked line in the sand.

It was as if the wind had sketched roses onto a silk canvas,
As if the rain had melted into a floral design in the sand.

Picture design Anumita Roy

Steffen Horstmann

Steffen Horstmann’s poems and book reviews have appeared in publications throughout the world, including Baltimore Review, Free State Review, Istanbul Literary Review, Oyez Review, San Antonio Review, Texas Poetry Journal, and Tiferet. He has published two books of ghazals, Jalsaghar (2016) and Ujjain (2017).