One man
pouring water from a plastic liter bottle
over his cock and hands
said in a language you remembered

On such a night as this,
     we’re floating in an endless sea.

Scrub forest, darkness, parched
earth, history.
             You waited

for the driver of the other Jeep
to return with a spare tire
as the dust crawled over your legs
like the legs of water-spiders.

Later you will talk in your sleep
of the place you were traveling toward,
its syllables swimming
under your breath,

     floating in an endless sea.