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.