that which sometimes floats and sometimes cleaves

I am skeptical of desert views.

-New York Times, December 13, 2024

Lane gives two words for Mirage: Āl, that which raises figures as though they float above the ground, in the early morning, and, Sarāb, that which lowers figures as though they cleave to the ground, at midday. I do not remember seeing a Mirage even once on the trail and KhairAllah never exclaimed that he saw one either, but by night on our late rides many times we saw the unexplained. Shooting stars when our eyes opened, or were they phosphenes when closed? It was hard to know the difference, half asleep under that darkened dome.