They cling to the earth like lichens in deep meditation
Lophophora williamsii. Fallen warriors sprinkled throughout the blackbrush and mesquite there in the valley of the Rio Grande.
They whisper to you as you roam that arid slab of ground and spin like Van Gogh in the night sky while you sleep.
They call you this way and that lead you in directions you did not intend.
In the dry washes beware rattlesnakes wait in every thin patch of shade
and at night lightning switches the lights on and off and on again.
Once the spirit of this unassuming succulent enters into you accepts you uplifts you the sky opens and reveals the pulsing heart of God's creation speaking softly in tongues heard only at the beginning.