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Hajar
It was not thirst that drove me to scramble in the desert
from one hill to the other like a mad pendulum
it was not thirst, not the child crying in the burning sand
nor my husband’s disappearing footsteps
it was that wide, empty horizon that promised no salvation
all language lost, the sun uninhibited
it was madness, it was reaching the end of the world and needing
to hear my feet against the ground, my breath ragged
my heart thundering against the silence of the barren earth
I was not looking for water, I wanted evidence of my own life