Darkness shaped from the moonlight
a guide and two others, lovers-
mesquite, jeweled clumps of wild zinnia
the palo verde shimmering
mountain in moonlight like
cast rattlesnake skin-
choric saguaros raise their arms, but not
for pity, woe, exaltation, or prayer—a chorus
of silence in dark forms
only the oasis is a lake of light
shallow, distant, spectral, floating on dark a mirage
the lovers say
turn to the mountain away from the city
and they turn so
admiring faint moonshadow wavering
a coyote cries far away, a long cry
and then another-
Leave a Reply