A LONG WAY TO GO, JUST TO DIE

The moonlight fought its way
into the dark recesses
of the battered hull.
        On the multihued red sands
        there could be seen splotches of a darker red.
        Some of it spilling into small pools
        as it slowly cascaded off metal plates.

The spotted and splotched sand
shifted with the winds
of the Planet of War.
The sands disguising themselves.
Shifting, it began to dune,
and cover the crushed hull.
        The light from the two orbs
        fought its way
        into broken corners.

A small creature with transparent lids
the color of rust,
crawled into the caved-in corridors.
Inside it found forms,
slowly bleeding red.
        It settled to fed.

Outside, the sand covered the shiny wreck.
The moonlight bounced off the sand -
multihued red crystals.

Copyrighted © by Lawrence Swyfte 2003

Return to Top            Return to Lawrence Swyfte's Pag