Phuket Sunset Poem by Michael William

He is walking through the sand
Of the Mai Khao beach passing the streaming
Hotel pools and apartment blocks.

The Thai
Sun is setting over the ocean and the sky and sand
Glow orange.

Behind him is only distance
And the strange pattern of his own footprints. He walks
Slowly as small specks of sand
Drop from his shorts onto the ground and become beach again,
He feels them drop away, wonders if they are
His failures finally setting him free.
Wonders why there is no shout in this moment,
wonders why there is no happiness, or even single triumph to hold in his memory;
His victory is a dull few minutes walking. He wonders how it came to him like this;

Not the extinction of the universe,
But the quieting of it
Not the destruction of his life
But of his need for it.