Arrakeen Dawn

(House Atreides' first morning on Planet Arrakis; from, "Dune" by Frank Herbert)

the Duke watched east

as the night grew luminous grey

seashell opalescence dimmed the stars

the long bell-tolling dawn

striking across a broken horizon

of purple and ocher cliffs

faint dew touched puddles of red blooms

a beautiful morning

a hideous place