Desert Living

A desert poem

 

DESERT LIVING

 

Skeletal tumbleweeds waltz

around in aimless circles

on the dusty desert floor.

 

Gusty winter winds of the

desert beat against our

houses and moan while

continuously jangling the

wind chimes.

Leaving everyone

feeling detached and

alone in the safety of their

warm homes.

 

Something about the

desert that can leave you

feeling so desolate and

sorrowful that even the

hollow of your bones

desperately

seek company.

 

You want to just crawl back to

the warmth of your bed

and just cry yourself

to sleep.

 

Deep in the desert,

where only hardy

creatures exist,

you might go

weeks or months

without seeing

anyone.

 

Your mouth gets so

dry and parched from

the arid desert air,

and your voice

just cracks from

lack of use.

 

Eventually,

the winds

have to moan

for everyone

just to give

her people

relief.

 

The desert's

not for everyone.

 

 

Author's Note

My experience of living in the desert and calling it home.

Reviews

[Undying Glory]

wow this is very very perceptive work. you've picked a really great topic to write about here. personally i'm very astonished by all the animals that can be found in the desert, and how well they adapt. although sometimes yes it feels like a right wasteland...
kind of reminds me of a time when i was on holiday in Australia. since it was about winter, though we were in the middle of a desert it was real cold, and so there was the improbable sight of people wearing parkas in the middle of the desert, lol
wonderful work!

[Angie Diane♥&hea..]

Yea, I wouldn't be able to live in the desert. Good poem though. It was cool that you did, but I don't think I would be able to handle. I love it. And I like the colors you used. Thanks for sharing. :)

[dangerbooze]

I've stayed out in the desert for a month before. At first it really wasn't for me. Especially, the nights and my allergies. But when I got used to it, it really did feel like home.

[Chilson, Joshua]

I really like this, though I have never physically lived in a desert there are times and many at that where I do emotionally feel as though I do. You could say living in the desert is like looking out the window and never enjoying what life has to give.

[Mauricio Montoya]

I know what you mean I spent some time in Arizona.
Great job well done.

[G. Anderson]

I loved the description of the desert... it makes me restless. It drew me in when you started to elaborate on the different characteristics and memories of living in the desert.

Wonderful piece of poetry, m'dear.

~Gage

[KL]

Although this pertains to a particular experience of yours, this can be associated with so much more. The desert is synonymous with isolation, and could very well describe the feeling after any situation where you feel very alone (heartbreak, death of a loved one, or in your case, moving away). Love the symbolism, whether there was intention or not!

"Skeletal tumbleweeds waltz
around in aimless circles
on the dusty desert floor."

Very strong, perfectly flowing introduction that carries right through to the end. Really enjoyed this, thanks.

[Wicahpi]

Fascinating. I've only driven through a piece of desert,
but cannot imagine living in one. Could be lonely as hell,
and HOT! I don't like HOT. lol This poem is visual and
I like it ;)

[Pax Analog]

The comments on the font colors being acid trippy and gratuitous make me think two things: First, the colors match desert heat, so fine. Second, psychotropics are one creative response to the stark space of the desert. ;-)

Tho' I like "hallow" for its sacral associations, I think you mean "hollow."

Overall, it's a starkly honest delineation of the travails of living in the desert without altered states of consciousness (the latter benefits from the absence of city noise and distractions). Probably depends on the essential company you keep there too. But yeah, pro or con, it's not for everyone.

Skeletal tumbleweeds waltz
around in aimless circles
on the dusty desert floor.

Those almost-haiku (5-7-5 syllables) opening lines are striking enough as words and images to extend beyond themselves into a meditation on the starkness of the human condition, the "desert of the real," that so many distractions conceal.

[Abdul Aziz]

Living in the desert must be tough. Well, I live in an urban desert, if there ever was such a place, I don't find it as tough. The story you weave with the backdrop of the desert heat and loneliness is very good, though. There are many lines I like in this poem. Your depiction of the troubles the desert poses to life is very clever indeed. Good work!

[Black Cat Fever]

This makes the desert sound like a place to be avoided at all costs. I like the deserts in Oregon.