It’s hard to stay cool,
Even my soul feels the thirst.
Oases have made me a fool,
My head throbs fit to burst.
All around, the blistering sands
Stretch away, far and wide,
A torrid waste, this desert land;
Around me, mirages glide.
I can see a lifeless husk of stone,
Standing, half sunk, in the sand.
A vision of a king renowned,
And a shadow of an old land.
The colossal, once mighty edifice
Towered over a lush land.
The green, meadows and fertile fields
Forged a people, proud and grand.
But needless wars and politics
Slowly sapped the nation of life.
The disillusioned folk, tired and sick,
Left en masse, to escape strife.
Gone are those halcyon days,
Time and grief have left their mark.
A once great nation lost its way,
And the light of joy has since turned dark.