- Beauty of the Desert -

By John Herlihy

Let’s face it, the arid desert has its own beauty,

Nature’s blessing it always had and always will.

In its grimness only lies a strong sense of duty,

To portray a stark emptiness where all lies still.

An endless expanse stretched into another world,

An occasional cactus against white light unfurled.

A life that had died a hundred million years ago,

How all this came about no one would ever know.

Day after relentless day became a copy of the first,

What little life may linger would finally die of thirst.

Oh, how the brightness made for a blinding sight,

Endless days waited patiently for the coming night.

All the dark heavens are silent as the stars unfold,

Whispering of sacred mysteries never before told.

The sun shows up again on the earth’s threshold,

Displaying a nothingness felt as exceedingly bold.

Yet in all this stark reality there is reason for hope,

Lost and abandoned, we cling to the Divine Rope.

As I say, a desert has its own beauty, truth be told,

Blessed by a secret well cast from the Divine Mold.

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(c) John Herlihy January 2019