((Note: I put the poem in the stanza order I intended, though I agree it's very interesting your way.))
Great Desert
The desert spreads out like a vast road before you. Many paths to take, but only one of them leads back home. You look for landmarks, trails, or signs of your passing, but the endless wind builds and rebuilds the dunes like the fickle creator it is. Unless you can piece together the path you took here, it shall also be the decisive destroyer...
beneath seizing, sinking sand?
of his town; A kind mirage.
to home of distant laughter.
by that lonely one,
That traveler who after
His shattered family, sought
his longest journey,
alone, returned he
He ponders of his homeland
Is it there at all
see every instance
He can, in desert's collage,
albeit found none
does it hear his call?
though it seemed to him he ought.
- in the vast distance -
...with a worried glance, you look behind you at the gates of the city to the SOUTH. Perhaps it is not yet time to cross.
>He ponders of his homeland
does it hear his call?
Is it there at all
beneath seizing, sinking sand?
He can, in desert's collage,
see every instance
-in the vast distance-
of his town; A kind mirage.
That traveler who after
his longest journey,
alone, returned he
to home of distant laughter.
His shattered family, sought
by that lonely one,
albeit found none
though it seemed to him he ought.
Festive City
The city is alight with fireworks and the stars above. The streets are crowded with revelers, and stalls spill out as far as the eye can see. People shout and cheer, and their laughter washes over you like an endless ocean. Though the sights and sounds are truly breathtaking... you cannot stay here. You push through the crowds to get to the less crowded streets, and though you cannot see them, you remember the paths from here: To the NORTH, you know lies a path, now leading nowhere. To the WEST, a road to a place you’ve never gone. To the EAST, the king’s own palace stands, no doubt delighting in more merriment. Finally, to the SOUTH lies the Great Desert.
>_