IN A RED, SANDY DESERT

On a red, sandy desert world
Stand exotic ghostly trees
Limbs reaching to the sky
Like arms pleading for succor.

White slender branches
Looking like skeletal arms,
Raised, begging for relief
From the scorching sun.

Sand-blasted boulders
Are the only form of cover,
For any living creatures
In the near-endless day.

Tunnels around the boulders
Show where animals once lived,
Or perhaps still reside
Ready to kill intruders.

Yet, as the burning heat
Almost melts their very flesh,
Human visitors consider
Whether to risk the tunnels.

Stranded on a desert world
After their starship crashed,
What other choice is there
To survive the furnace-like sun?

But as they enter the tunnels
Strange screeching rings out,
As giant arachnid creatures
Scuttle dreadfully toward them.

Two of the stranded die
Shrieking in pain and terror,
But the others escape the tunnels
Back into the scorching sun.

Soon, as daylight is fading
They all return to their ship,
Hoping to survive the night
Needing rescuers to come soon.

THE END
© Copyright 2023, Philip Roberts
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia