Desert

The Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India : Wikimedia Commons

A few weeks ago I was greatly inspired by our friend Annell’s poem Rain. How tenderly she spoke about the transformation that takes place in the desert after rain. The poem triggered my interest in ‘Deserts’. I have not yet seen a desert but I long to see one and we have one in the north western part of our country India : The Thar Desert in the State of Rajasthan.

So today’s theme is Desert and also everything connected with it. It might be also about an oasis, flora & fauna of deserts, sand dunes, local people and their culture or even about mirages. You might wish to write about any specific desert. If you have a desert experience that would be an added bonus. Your ‘desert poem’ might also be metaphorical.

Here is a couple of poems for you:

 

Desert

by Josephine Miles

 

When with the skin you do acknowledge drought,

The dry in the voice, the lightness of feet, the fine

Flake of the heat at every level line;

 

When with the hand you learn to touch without

Surprise the spine for the leaf, the prickled petal,

The stone scorched in the shine, and the wood brittle;

 

Then where the pipe drips and the fronds sprout

And the foot-square forest of clover blooms in sand,

You will lean and watch, but never touch with your hand.

 

In the Desert

by Stephen Crane

 

In the desert

I saw a creature, naked, bestial,

Who, squatting upon the ground,

Held his heart in his hands,

And ate of it.

I said, “Is it good, friend?”

“It is bitter—bitter,” he answered;

 

“But I like it

“Because it is bitter,

“And because it is my heart.”

 

Please link one poem that is your response to the material of this prompt. When you link your poem please visit other links in the spirit of the community