The Desert doesn't need my approval.
It asks nothing of me.
It hardly takes notice of me on arrival.
The Desert is wise though not content,
Resigned but not morose,
Inscrutible, guileless, indifferent, and free,
A Sovereign who demands no tribute.
The Desert at dusk must not be approached.
It stalks the night
To seize and hold it 'til dawn.
It is patient like the sniper,
Who watches me as dead for days.
Taking the shot on my misstep.
This omniscient expanse
Plies the folds of my brain
For toxins, for anything false and unworthy.
It is sentient yet never verbose.
It is a mirror to my naked being
As no hide for me is found.
I'm prostrate, and tremble
In the realm of the sun,
As the Desert forgives me without any words.
I am depleted and I am renewed
As the Desert's mercy belies
The chill in the wind.
Gary Sanders
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-desert-effect/
