I See the Green of the Desert

I see the green of the desert That overcomes the brown Clinging to ground and water And with gentle affection It might reveal some color Like a yellow persuasion. I feel the fermenting sun Calling out the vultures That fly with a heart of one. It heats a beautiful hearth Of brown quartz and white granite That swears of Nature’s wealth. I sense the black jaguar’s stare – Eyes that have a thirst for blood And those teeth – a gnashing lair. I smell blood in the wind When death captures its prey And in birth when life tries again. I hear the cicadas’ buzz Drowning in humidity As thunderheads growl above – Billowing, creeping steadily To the hour of their rage – Covering the path of a coyote. I taste the kindness of plants Of palo verde, jojoba – What nutrients each grants! I spy the purple mountains Blending in with their shadows – Not knowing where either begin. They tempt my spirit below To their crags and lonely peaks – To secret places I know.