Sonoran Desert

.................................I’m going. Soon, I will go.

...........................................Noon–and the distance

................................swims in its sullen heat.

.

...................I recover each tiny thorn that’s

..............................lodged itself into my sky-worn eyes.

..................Los acantilados rojos han pinchado

.

.....vel piel mío. And yet, I will miss this

.....................landscape since, on the scoured border

.......of spring, vast barrens of sand and

.

......................locoweed are reborn with tough,

..................................showy flowers of succulents. Summers,

......................the monsoons buckle the earth,

.

..................................showering the air with a scent

............................................of creosote. Clouds como rompe-

.................................cabezas shuffle long shadows

.

......................across the mountains. Still,

..................................I promise I’ll remember the lean

......................wayward light, the red bluffs

.

..........lush toward the greenest edge

......................of April. That lake stretched far

..........away is una mentira, mere fable,

.

......................and the nearby dunes already

....................................are just undulations of stardust,

......................blowing away with my sorrow.

.

....................................A flycatcher trills its song

..............................................perched on a saguaro’s bones.

....................................I am going. Soon, I will go.