Desert

There are millions of grains of sand
burning red in the midday sun,
tiny works of art, alight
before the day has begun.

Irritated beneath the aching feet
of camels and nomads, grit
conjures a pearl in its oyster eye,
a mirage in the distance,

where an antique rose withers again
and again, forever thirsty for rain. 

Kim M. Russell, 23rd October 2024

Image by Vizag Explore on Unsplash

Sumana is our host at What’s Going On? this Wednesday.  She says that she was inspired by Annell’s poem ‘Rain’, and how ‘tenderly she spoke about the transformation that takes place in the desert after rain’, which triggered her interest in deserts, the theme for our poems this week. We might write ‘about an oasis, flora & fauna of deserts, sand dunes, local people and their culture or even about mirages’ or about a specific desert or a desert experience.

Sumana has shared poems by Josephine Miles and Stephen Crane to inspire us.

21 thoughts on “Desert”

  2. Desert is beautiful in spite of all its harshness and challenges. “tiny works of art” tells me of the shadows and shapes and colors one might find there “before the day has begun.’ The antique rose tale and mirages also show us the other side of deserts. So nicely put.

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  4. “grit
    conjures a pearl in its oyster eye,
    a mirage in the distance”

    Gosh! I’d head for the pearl and be happy to find the rose. There’s such a feeling of time stretched out, of thirst never quenched, of things lasting forever and ever. Beautiful.

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  11. Wow! By the time I read to the end, I was seriously thirsty. That is to say, your use of imagery was highly effective (and affective). And I agree with Shay, that phrase, “a pearl in its oyster eye” totally blew me away! Wonderful write, Kim.

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