We Were Not Made For This World

- Sand gathers in his knee joints.

Sand has been gathering in his knee joints

for the past 10 days.

That is when the sealant eroded completely.

Sand gathers in his knee joints

at 16 to 32 granules per minute,

depending on the wind speed.

Eight to 10 are forced out by the still functioning

internal defenses, but, clearly,

this leaves accumulation.

With effort he modifies his walking method,

taking more abbreviated steps,

allowing less exposure of the vulnerable area.

Now there's slightly less accumulation

but still, ground is lost.

Another minute passes,

and another 17 granules come in.

Nine are pushed out.

Somewhere along this long line of the horizon,

he theorizes, is a place where they still exist.

The things that built the assembly,

and the city.

Series and series ago, somewhere,

something had to have built them or so he reasoned.

And perhaps these things could explain why they built them.

And perhaps they could explain

everything.