Mirage

Through a desert In my dreams
I had walked for so long
that each dune had a separate name
and the tumbleweed bush that swirled all about
had come to be called "my friend".
On one hot blistering night
I envisioned a beautiful rose
half-hidden behind a cactus guard
and though her petals were worn
her life giving force was so strong
that her ruby red cheeks still flared to the morning sun.
I picked up the rose
and as I held her so close I sensed
her perfume was meant only for me,
for though pulled from the earth
through my fingers she lived as if part of me.
I wakened from sleep clutching my heart
and return to my dreams I begged,
for while holding the rose
I had been so agonizingly close
to grasping my life's everlasting dream.