The well had dried
the bucket came up empty
and we had travelled far
meeting neither beast
nor fowl on our way
but we heard time
whining. Its clock turned
like a millstone as we waited
for a sign.

There we stopped,
our horses had died -
they were a burden.
The dog whimpered for a while,
then he was gone.
We raised a small barrier of sand
over a pile of bones.