Villanelle #2

Through this character is learnt:

By loneliness and challenge

In the silence of the desert. 

Only in solitude do trials impart

Permanent lessons, not in a village. 

Through this character is learnt:

Necessity is taught by thirst. 

Life is worthy at the canyon ridge

In the silence of the desert. 

It's learnt by listening to a calm heart

Not by the horror of war's carnage. 

Through this character is learnt:

Knowing Adam prevailed when cursed. 

Humility became his wage

In the silence of the desert. 

Your strengths matter here first. 

Worldly views become abridged. 

Through this, character is learnt

In the silence of the desert.