Sahara

Awoke to the cold, to the ugly hour of 4:30 am, and to the darkness of a vast desert.
Climbed (struggled) to crawl my way along the crest of the largest dune around.
Thirty minutes later I sat, still heaving, and watched as the dim light turned to brilliance when the sun came over the horizon.
I felt the particles of sand between my fingers.
I thought: I am a grain of sand.
We sang.
Our voices faltered.
Someone prayed: may we feel a sunrise in our own hearts.
I smiled the entire way down the dune.
We climbed back atop our camels, wrapped our heads in scarves, and crawled slowly back through the sand.

Ahh, Arabia...