The Desert doesn't need my approval. <br />It asks nothing of me. <br />It hardly takes notice of me on arrival. <br /> <br />The Desert is wise though not content, <br />Resigned but not morose, <br />Inscrutible, guileless, indifferent, and free, <br />A Sovereign who demands no tribute. <br /> <br />The Desert at dusk must not be approached. <br />It stalks the night <br />To seize and hold it 'til dawn. <br /> <br />It is patient like the sniper, <br />Who watches me as dead for days. <br />Taking the shot on my misstep. <br /> <br />This omniscient expanse <br />Plies the folds of my brain <br />For toxins, for anything false and unworthy. <br /> <br />It is sentient yet never verbose. <br />It is a mirror to my naked being <br />As no hide for me is found. <br /> <br />I'm prostrate, and tremble <br />In the realm of the sun, <br />As the Desert forgives me without any words. <br /> <br />I am depleted and I am renewed <br />As the Desert's mercy belies <br />The chill in the wind.<br /><br />Gary Sanders<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-desert-effect/
