What the desert claims

What the desert claims

Eyes it reels in
sandy mountains dune after dune
On the edge of a poor civilization older than the bible
The smell winds like a trickle up the nose

The date palms tall and thick
shade the small plantations
Form lovehearts between valleys of rock
Smothering peak after peak fifty degrees celsius

A union is broken before the sandy expanse
The blue sky always fresh never weathered like the lives
of poor humble villagers
textile dye their only livelihood

Sandstorms kick up and the wind becomes one with land
enveloping villages and oasis
Sending clouds of darkness over the rippled wilderness
The desert claims it all