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From: taylor@sdccsu3.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.poems
Subject: The Desert
Message-ID: <2159@sdccsu3.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 6-Aug-84 17:34:26 EDT
Article-I.D.: sdccsu3.2159
Posted: Mon Aug  6 17:34:26 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 8-Aug-84 00:51:19 EDT
Organization: University of California at San Diego
Lines: 49


	This is one of a series of poems in which I experiment with
trying to evoke memories of a specific place.


			The Desert

		God!  

		Water....

		It's soooo hot.

		And yet, in the midst of the shimmering heat,
		the sky itself melting,
		I live.

		and the creatures around me live
		also.  Somehow finding sustenance
		from the harsh ground.

		There are no plants.

		No water.

		But, I think, as I fall to my knees,
		there are plants.
		Right in front of me.

		God!  To have a drink of water!

		I reach out, in wonderment, at
		the skull of a small mouse, leering
		up at me.  Telling me how foolish it
		is to expect to survive the
		heat.

		and lack of water
		alone.

		Above, in the sky, 
		the sun pounds down cruelly.

		Winged creatures circle.
		Angels awaiting the chance to
		raid the earth of another 
		juicy prize.

		me.