The Well in the Middle of Nowhere

In the middle of the desert I found a well
Why it was there I couldn't tell
The land was cracked, parched and dry
Burnt by Sol for all of time

Still there it sat, clay bricks all caked
With dried mud that slowly baked
Into brittle pieces which then would flake
Off and small confection it'd make

A bucket sat there to the side
The rope hung limply awaiting its ride
The handle was bleached nearly white
Yet something still did not seem right.

Ponderous as the world itself
A well sat here in this forsaken hell
Miles of nothing as far as I could see
I had walked here to die peacefully

Curious I must peer down its maw
Greeted by a black hole inviting fall
The coin that I carried i deposited in
And realized not wishing would be a sin

So I wished for all to be right
The hurt, the pain, the day, the night
The loves I gave and also denied
The forgiveness of those to whom I lied

I listened to hear it tink tink tink
Ricocheting walls before it'd sink
Into waters that barely *plinked*
Dropped into oblivion all I could think

And now that bucket seemed to loom
Beckoning me to fill it soon
I'm not sure why but I decided then
That maybe it was not now the end

The handle offered barely a creak
Turned on wooden spits that speak
Whispers so soft to nothing but wind
As I cranked it over and over again

Minutes turned to days without a single sunset
My arms grew tired enticing me to forget
Why I sought the waters below
Heat and doubt are terrible foes

And the moment when I could turn no more
I felt that bucket hit a watered floor
Ten times as heavy now pulling it up
Ten times as long before I'd see the cup

I'm not sure what makes us go on when we cant
But I know I didn't stop or recant
My wishes I offered so long ago
Nor my shoulder from turning to row

Time flew slowly to a halt
When that bucket peeked past that dot
Of inky black as it emerged
It's contents upon my head I purged

The joy that's found when so little is left
When heartache has left your soul bereft
Something so small as water on skin
Forgives a myriad of all our sins

I dropped that bucket and sat beside
The well in the middle of nowhere
For a million reasons then I cried
None of which seemed fair.