Mahgrebi

I'm walking alone in the desert
I've walked now for miles 
In silence
The grains of sand blown by the wind 
Leave little cuts on my burnt face

I am alone 

I cover my head

with a dark magenta shawl 

the color of wine

or blood 

I walk 

My feet sink in the sand

My legs feel weak and wobbly 

The way they do after a tough swimming practice 

I'm a swimmer 

But there's no water here

I cover my face with the shawl 

Leaving only my eyes free 

Being free, they look around 

Towards a vastness of nothing  

I keep walking 

I am now the mahgrebi everyone says I could be

I search 

There's something I need

I know I need it 

A drink

A drug 

A magic potion

It's why I keep walking 

I gotta have it 

I couldn't find it where I came from

So I wonder in the desert 

but I find no one 

I see a tent in the far distance 

to the north of me

I recover some strength 

I march on the tent's direction

but it's never there 

where it's supposed to be 

Alone and weary 

I lay down on the sand

I close my eyes

I let myself be 

covered in sand 

Just a thin layer 

Yet another 

and another one

Until there is no more 
me