“Some winds that just sigh towards the sky. Night dust storms that come with the cold. The khamsin, a dust in Egypt from March to May, named after the Arabic word for ‘fifty,’ blooming for fifty days–the ninth plague of Egypt. The datoo out of Gibraltar, which carries fragrance. There is also the ——, the secret wind of the desert, whose name was erased by a king after his son died within it. And the nafhat–a blast out of Arabia. Dust storms in three shapes. The whirl. The column. The sheet. In the first, the horizon is lost. In the second, you are surrounded by ‘waltzing Ginns.’ The third, the sheet, is copper-tinted. Nature seems to be on fire.”’

From the English Patient, by Michael Ondaatje.

Image © Lucy McLaren 2015