White Sands

/ Daniel Swearingen


“The wind it paints your face, as it stirs the shifting sand. Nightmare creatures closing in, they leave at your command. Fading lady light, always here with me, singing your song in the wind at night.” – Jeannette Sears

She is a faded lady in the arid early morning, a patch of dream torn from its unconscious birth, a soft passionate cry in the gypsum sand, where ghost lay their hands upon me and breathe light.

It was in April, that much I remember, well a quarter moon too, there is a memory of that. Perhaps the more I think about it, the more that appears. Those cascading fragments of thought, that drift at first unpieced. Those parts like a jigsaw puzzle, that flow afraid to touch, until the hippocampus is stretching at its very seams, and much like some messiah on a cross you cry out, “Take this cup”. And then it happens from various places in the cortex, a wholeness begins, a picture, a sound, smells and then a story. A beautiful story filled with “white Sands“.

The sands hold a picture that is still hard to find, of something that found me on once upon a time. To see it all now comes to me fleetingly. Perhaps a soft breath that touches my teeth. A buried illusion that comes as a tease. A finger down my spine, when there is no one but me. A vision of eyes turned to stars in a sea, a coven of seven dipping to sweep. The dunes of infinity revealing the keys. Oh, Megrez and Mizar they sing a chorus at first louder, than so silently. The place of death angels, atomic degrees. Whispers by slumber the puzzle recedes. A swath of her garment, as she passes by me, her home in this desert a white sand filled sea. What account can be printed until I finally believe. Memory my memory, come to serve me. Memory my memory, come to serve me.

The questions I have asked, that still haunt my belief. When I took a journey of solace in spring. Slept upon White Sands, under a breeze. Saw shadows and graces that circled beneath, the light of the heavens, the chill of the night. The cosmos of magic, that changed me somehow, made me different under odd lights. For if I could take a minute, relive a single breath. I would be in April my body laying helpless on White Sands. Under heavens probing stare.

Perhaps in this nighttime, as I lie on my bed, hearing my thoughts of distant memories unsaid. The puzzle will gather, and pour through a glass. The memoirs of mystery, a swirling soft quest. That led me to sit up that night on the sand, and welcome the spirits of light to come in. To welcome the spirits of light to come in.

She is a faded lady in the arid early morning, a patch of dream torn from its unconscious birth, a soft passionate cry in the gypsum sand, where ghost lay their hands upon me and breathe light. – 04.11.2019 – דָנִיֵּאל

 

81 thoughts on “White Sands”

  2. “The memoirs of mystery”
    what a memoir that would be for each to write a piece of the puzzle
    of this life’s mysteries we have encountered

    i think you see into so many different moments in different realms, and you bring it to each of us
    so that we see your stories in a way that fits our moments and hold a piece of it for our see our memories in a different light…not sure that makes sense but it does in this chaotic mind of mine 🙂

    love that song, perfect chose for your thoughts Daniel, i enjoyed the nights wandering within the White Sands….

    Take Care…You Matter…
    Blessings
    maryrose

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    • Hi Maryrose, Thank you for your wonderful comment. Your remarks always give me pause to reflect a moment on your own descriptions. They are great. Reminds me of a time in which people took the time to write letters, full of description and detail of the intricacies of a good night’s sleep, a simple walk to the back pasture, the details of the new city park, or the latest book being read. All I appreciate very much in this world of fast moving technology. Thank you. Daniel

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      • i love writing letters, i think it connects on a level where you put part of you in between the lines, not left drifting in cyberspace 🙂 i still read books too, i like the feel of them 🙂 hope you have a great weekend
        Take Care…You Matter…
        maryrose

        Liked by 1 person

  5. When I was in the Air Force stationed at Alamogordo I spent a lot of time in the White Sands. It is at night as you well describe, mystical and full of lights from above and beauty.

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  6. Daniel “White Sands” embodies a mystery that all of us reading your work can chew on. It makes me think of a time of seeing lights out across Lake Erie that did not come from any explainable object. As you describe so well it was as if the stars danced from the sky above. As usual I enjoyed your work. 🙂

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    • Thank you Ryan, I am happy you shared your night adventure with me at Lake Erie. It is incredible the things that stick with us through out life that we wonder, where they came from? I like your description of stars dancing from the sky. 😉

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      • Yu are welcome Daniel. I have been fortunate to have many outdoor adventures in my lifetime watching the stars fall from the sky. it is always awe inspiring, and I am grateful for each experience.

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  9. Daniel, I love your memories from the Southwest, New Mexico in particular. “White Sands” is another destination my family traveled to vacation when I was a child growing up in Arizona. I still remember getting sunburned during the daytime. 😉 The night time camping near there, was a plethora of stars to sleep under. Thank you for this piece. It brought back great memories. ❤

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  10. Great verbiage Daniel! The personal journey of mystery could be an alternate title. I find myself wrapped up in the mystery you present. I will let you know if I am first to solve the puzzle, but in the meantime keep writing. Each post is a clue.

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  11. Your thoughts are like the lights you aptly describe, dancing in mystery. I enjoyed this piece very much my young friend. I like many others remember visiting White Sands in New Mexico, and at night it is as you describe.

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    • Thank you Bill, I appreciate your kind comment. I always am into others thoughts on a place if they have been there before, I am happy you got to experience “White Sands” at night. Does anything stand out in your mind from that adventure? 😉

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      • As you have written, the stars seem to fall from the sky at night. My visit there was in 1967, much younger than my young friend. 😉

        Liked by 1 person

  13. Dear Daniel,
    There were so many memorable lines to this beautiful piece. None more so then the following for me. “Perhaps in this nighttime, as I lie on my bed, hearing my thoughts of distant memories unsaid. The puzzle will gather, and pour through a glass.” The hourglass metaphor painted a visual for me, as so many of your words do, that brought back a personal lovely memory. The song also was lovely and fit so well. I had never heard it before.
    ❤ Ruby

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  15. Your writing produces some of the most memorable visuals for me Daniel. Always penned in delicate mystical detail. Handing me answers as well as forming more questions about where I have been and what lies ahead. Thank you. A

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  18. Your writing always has such a magical nice touch to it, and this lovely piece was no exception. “The dunes of infinity revealing the keys. Oh, Megrez and Mizar they sing a chorus at first louder, than so silently. ” This line especially hummed for me. 🙂

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  20. New Mexico has brought a great deal of meaning to your life Daniel. Having traveled through the land of enchantment more than once, I can see why you have such descriptive memories full of mystery and magic. Well done my friend.

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  21. This was a beautiful memory Daniel, even as a puzzle it presents a magical picture of your thoughts from being one with the stars on the sand. My favorite paragraph. “Perhaps in this nighttime, as I lie on my bed, hearing my thoughts of distant memories unsaid. The puzzle will gather, and pour through a glass. The memoirs of mystery, a swirling soft quest. That led me to sit up that night on the sand, and welcome the spirits of light to come in. To welcome the spirits of light to come in.” 🙂 ❤

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  22. Daniel, I read through this wonderful post more than once, finding your description of the night sands mystical, peaceful and a place where heaven intersects with earth. Another brilliantly put together piece of prose to add to my ever growing list of favorites. ❤ ❤ ❤

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    • Thank you my friend. So I almost got a “Day’s of our lives” theme going. 😉 You should see this place before you leave this planet. The place where Albert Einstein watched the first atomic blast, it is full of spirits, especially at night. Probably got more than my share of radiation there. Could be what is wrong with me now. 😉

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  26. Dear Daniel, this is a dreamy, cosmic and an ethereal piece. I adore that you’re puzzle piecing the memories together. I think our memories are stored in some distant place that requires us to transverse the fine line between sleep and wake. The fifth verse is stunning. Wishing you well, enjoy your evening and have a terrific Friday. ~ Mia

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