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Midnight Zoomies Apr 2018
Dubai has reared herself a throne,
In a strange city lying alone,
Far down within the Middle East,
Where the rich and humble consume and feast,
Their shrines and palaces and towers,
Resemble nothing that is ours,
Around, by dunes and winds forgot,
Resignedly beneath the desert sky,
The melancholy waters lie.
Robert Ronnow Sep 2024
Back from the desert and loving it
both the visit and the return.
The powerful plane deiced in Chicago.
Brittlebush, difficulty distinguishing acacia from ironwood.
Mesquite, and plenty of paloverde.
A good jazz band in Phoenix, their own style, no apology.

Could you also love your cancer? The vicious attack of a hedgehog
      cactus?
The winter storm that kept us on the tarmac three hours
followed us home. Used to be
when weather made the headlines, that was good news.
No more. Those melting icecaps and incoming meteors.
Some pray, some stay still, some keep playing.

Anyway, notwithstanding inexorably expanding or otherwise rapidly
      contracting universes
I saw cercocarpus, phainopepla, tomentilla, saguaro, and a great
      guitarist. Prayers were answered.
Nathan Tom Sep 2024
This is the place where I wake up
On an open highway in the valley
My mind dreaming with my hands on the wheel
The radio churning as it always does

There’s love songs, ballads of what once was
Spanish talk radio just across the border
I pay no mind as the desert road sings
A simple melody lulling me into a dream

The other cars are simply props
Machines that accompany me on my drive
I press on as I always do
Muscle memory avoiding them as I pass

This is the place that I call home
A little town inside a world of sand
Earth mother carries me as I keep dreaming
The radio churning as it always does
I tend to zone out on the Highway 8 during my early morning drives. Probably not a good thing, but it makes for interesting storytelling
Lyla Sep 2024
A unique glint compels the eye
Towards desolation
Pluck a stone from the desert floor
For examination

Would faceting reveal a prize?
Do its flaws void its worth?
Could it ever shine so brightly
It seems not of this earth?

Yet inclusions of baser stuffs
Are threaded through its veins
Harsh mineral imperfections
Which this beauty contains

They cannot be excised, you see
It would transform the stone
Into a hollow, pitted thing
So best leave it alone

Just drop it back into the sand
With spots you so abhor
Another hand will pick it up
One who can love it more
Not quite a ballad but I'm throwing it in the collection anyway, sorry not sorry.
Lyla Aug 2024
long after i’m gone
this pebble will remain with
my touch turned to sand
It was truly a lovely pebble.
ranveer joshua Jul 2024
So Long, Cowboy
Red earth painted on your sun-kissed face
Marked the shadow of a veil
And the rim of your Stetson worn out

Was I really that mean to you?
To leave you in the dust
So that my sneakers feel the dry embrace of cracked pavement?

You walked to me barefoot at sundown
The fire outlining the silhouette of your ribs
In The Garden of Saint Paul’s Hospital

Your thin bones
Toothy smile
Fixed gaze

I’ll send you a postcard
You send me your love
Listened to "Nation of Two" by Vance Joy; "The Garden of Saint Paul's Hospital" by Vincent van Gogh
Isaace May 2024
Shimmering oblivion forms, dancing in sunlight—
Ripple thickens the lip of the sand.
Structural emblem searing the desert—
Music-slip, cockhantuu.
Gape-sunrise scolding, turney—
Allow my feet walk ‘pon sun-furnace sand!
Emerald Green, reside in distance.
Behold! The gift of grassland?
Gapefold, turney. Contstad, noble—
Sweet milk oozes from the scorpion's gland!
Oasis of milk— of mother-cry milk!
Breastmilk of this sun-scorched strand.
NA Dec 2023
Along our journey
Carved in stone
The words read
"The path from here on,
Must be walked alone."
The mournful cry
Tears of betray
Laminating the path
One walks astray
But you and I
Need not have this faith
For even the pilgrims
Lose their way
Although lost and drifting in time
Through the desert's barren beauty
You are my saving rain
And it is true
Our trail may wind
But it shall never part
As you forever remain
The keeper of my heart
It’s been a while since I picked up a pen and wrote.
Irakli Beria Dec 2023
Three days ago
my brother returned
from Afghanistan...
And during these three days,
when I was going home,
brother was not there
and when brother was becoming,
I was not...
On the third day, I went out
and kept thinking about the military uniform
hanging on the chair,
which has traces of desert,
which has my brother's name...
I got a call from home in the evening...
A familiar voice was heard on the phone.
"Where are you, Irakli?"
I'm tongue-in-cheek,
quickly went home
and all along the way
I had so many questions to ask him.
I imagined a standing ovation
I imagined a picture of our loud meeting,
but when I entered the door, I was frozen
because I met the sleepless and battle eyes...
We stood for three seconds
and after three seconds
we hugged each other
without saying a word...
Bardo Sep 2023
Over in Israel once visiting the holy sites
One morning I took off on my own for a wee wander in the desert
I hadn't been walking long
When I came across this thing sticking out of the ground
It was a kind of strange looking dial with ancient markings on it
I thought to myself this could be a real find
I might get some money out of this...
I started nudging at it with the toe of my boot
But then suddenly I hear this little voice "Go on, pick it up"
So I turn around expecting to see someone there
But there's no one, no one there
Well that's odd I think. So I start nudging at it again with my boot
And then I hear the same little voice again"Go on, pick it up"
I look around and there's no one there only some rocks, the sand and... and this, this prickly looking desert Bush,
I look at the Bush a bit suspiciously and I say rather amusingly not expecting an answer
"Are you talking to me... you talking to me ?"
Well I tell you, Jaysus I nearly jumped out of my boots when the Bush it snaps back at me rather curtly "Well who the hell else would I be talking to, you're the only one here aren't you!!!
A Bush with an attitude I thought, I bet Moses never had to put up with that
Then I thought to myself 'this isn't the kind of Bush you meet every day'.
So I bent down and picked it up, the strange dial
'What is it ?" I asked
"It's a magical time piece" the Bush replied, "it's like the remote control device you use for your TV
It has 3 buttons, a Pause button in the middle, a Rewind and a Forward button
But instead of controlling a TV, it controls Time itself"
"Yeah!" I said a little disbelievingly
When you press the Pause button Time stops and the whole world stops
If you press the Forward button you can go into the future
The Rewind brings you back into your recent past".
'You're not serious', I said.
"So", the Bush continued, "if you're in a queue, say in a restaurant, you can press the Pause button and then you can go right up to the top of the queue and get your dinner and you can sit down and eat it in peace with no noise or distractions, time will have stopped for everyone else
No one will see you, it's like you're the Invisible Man. You can go up and down your whole world just like that".
'And I suppose' I say, 'if I ever need some money I can just nip into a shop and take it out of the till, or go into a Bank..'
The Bush cuts me off here suddenly saying "No! You can't steal/take other people's money
Instead you just go into the future, there you can get all the winning horses and winning Lotto numbers and bring all that knowledge back into the present".
And what's the Past button for?' I asked
"If you have good happy experiences you can go back and relive them over and over".
'That sounds great', I replied. I thought he would have made a great salesman this Bush.
"But why me", I asked kind of conscientiously, "why should I be so lucky",  
"Well you found it", said the Bush, "and I can't use it, I'm only a Bush".
Then he went on "But be careful to keep it a secret, others will suddenly start getting curious and start asking questions
They'll want to know why you're so lucky and successful and where all your money is coming from
Even if you take a wife, she too will probably eventually start asking questions, trying to discover your secret. But remember always keep your finger to your lips, like a Sphinx never reveal to them your secret".
Then the Bush said "I've got to go now".
"You've got to go", I said a bit sadly (I was getting kind of fond of this Bush),"but you're a Bush"
Then he starts burning, becoming engulfed in flames.
"Are you alright!" I said, a bit concerned
Then he says finally "Enjoy your new toy, have a great time !
And he was gone.  And I was alone again.
Now this one isn't true unfortunately LoL, is a bit of Sci-fi. When my nieces and nephew would visit I'd sometimes pick up a remote control and say I'm going to put you on Pause or Rewind you, this is probably where this came from. -I like the idea of someone having a secret power just like Samson.
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