Mirage of a Mirage

The snakes rattled
and the gravel crunched
under my feet as I walked on
When in the distance I saw
Nay, thought I saw
For the earth had been deceiving me
for the past nine days of my journey
The stars and the moon had become
My dear old friends, but the Sun
ran sweat down my eyes
and showed me mirages like this one
As I looked at the moving spectacle
That wasn't the sand, or the roaring wind
Or the occasional tuft of cactus
A sight for sore eyes!
The battered old man in his
Battered old hat and the wind
Whipped at his western clothes
And the sand obscured the sheen
That once was on his dress shoes
I didn't dare blink my eye for fear
That this entertainment of the fortnight
Might from my sight disappear
The man continued his stumbling walk
As he drew closer, I saw
The weathered tanned leather skin
With a morning, now evening shadow stubble
and bright blue eyes looking in a haze through
the constant battering of his eyelids against the sand
I still dared not blink  lest I lost this new friend!
I kept my eyes fixed and pressed
My palm on to the thorny part
of my makeshift walking aid
It instantly stung and I kept my eyes fixed
A hiss escaped my lips
Two blue eyes shot brightly towards me
And the wrinkles around them seemed to ease
I dropped my bundle and ran forwards
For all I knew, this sweet old man was hurt
Or dehydrated, pillaged for all his loot,
The cowboys might have harassed him,
Or the venom of a snake freezing his veins,
Did he lose all his friends?
Were his companions all dead? Was he the lone survivor?
What was the story behind this handsome face
What great words would break my heart tonight
And it mustered the final drops of energy in me
And I ran and lunged to catch the battered old man
He fell in my arms and I held him on with dear life
What a sight for sore eyes! and tears
welled in my eyes
His wrinkles smoothed over his skin
and he passed out until the next dawn
And all through the night, with my old friends
And a new one,
My mind raced on and on about the poor luck
This man had stumbled upon
Alas, when he woke up
And I gave him my water pouch
He drank until his crinkled lips
Were pink and shone his smile
"What happened?" my curiosity burst out!
"Had guests at home and I served
My finest spirit of mulberry.
Oh what a great time it was! Cheering with fine mulberry!"