MIRAGE OF CLARITY Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

MIRAGE OF CLARITY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the side view mirror of the U-Haul, my familiar world slips away, the verdant green hills of North Texas, lush and breathing, their whispers fading into dust. We roll into the heart of the Permian Basin, the lushness surrendering to the parched expanse. Flat is the land—yellow, ochre and brown; the sagebrush and mesquite, stoic in their resilience, pay homage to the sun's relentless gaze. Late afternoon, the Chihuahuan Desert unfolds, the earth here wearing its scars like a badge of survival. The vast expanse of dusty solitude lay before us, the heat wrapping around us like a heavy coat where the roads led to nowhere in particular. Dusk arrives, and the sun, a fiery, molten orb, sinks into the embrace of night. I wonder in this desolate land if I’ll find beauty, if the road ahead holds new hills to climb, or merely more miles of flat, aching unfamiliar stillness. Morning arrives with a hush, the sun blinding me—a sudden flash of brilliance. Shielding my gaze, I look far off into the distance. The aridity somehow frees the light unleashing the desert’s grandeur. The sky is a gorgeous, intense blue color, the sand dunes taking on sunlight and pulse. Though the earth here isn’t cloaked in forest, nor draped in pastoral, peaceful green, it dons a simple, comfortable, khaki-colored robe. Like shadows retreating, the past shifts, a mirage of clarity rising in the shimmering heat. I stand, not just in the light, but in the beauty of now, knowing the desert holds the promise of something magnificent and new. I clutch it close to my heart. Poem written for “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder Poetry Contest,” Crystol Woods, sponsor, July 2025.