The crimson sky fumes with the rage of desert summer,

Turning springs flowers of gold and lavender to tawny dust.

Scorpion and rattler laze in awe,

Cherishing the warmth of the arid sun.

Cacti dot the plains, green and angry,

Breaking the monotony of the monochrome landscape.

Beneath even the most lovely of spouts lays a heart of bramble,

Drawing first blood from all but the sturdiest patron.

Lonesome ballads of the song dog eclipse the dark silence,

Howling teardrops rain upon the parched surface.

Rife with dwellers only dreamt of in nightmares,

Exotic, ghoulish, yet beautiful,

A vista both barren and thriving beckons.

Calling the adventurous to pay homage,

Genuflecting in respect to this alien canvas.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~