The Witness

Expectant witness to the calm before storm
Embedded in the white-hot desert.
Now we have it,
“Five, four, three, two, one zero!”
We have lift off!
The desert rumbles,
As a brilliant light dazzles the unsuspecting eye
And a screaming cloud of boiling steam
Wrestles to detach itself from lethal vapours.



In the calm courtyard, fountains lazily play
Waters to cool slender roots of tall limes
Standing silently in the afternoon heat,
Providing sustenance and shelter for the humming bee
That sips cool drinks and assaults the fragrance of flowers