the unforgiving bright
of a dusty stark landscape
has almost blinded me
sowaro soldiers pop up
in uneven beige minefields
like dry bones while whippowills race
amid dust, their fancy headdresses askew on
grey brown heads, as they scurry between
nesting along the edges
of this lonesome racheria and distracting their preditors
(much like we humans).
two faded bunnies crossed in front of
me and petey this morning during a
pre-dawn walk
taking care of bunny business before
the heat struck
forays into the outdoors are timed
like races
while all remaining life courses are set
depending on where the sun falls
in the sky and what the heat of the day
might bring..
who lives here and why, i wondered
as the dry exhaustion took me over
is it the guarantee of a
heat-stroked death?