The Empty Quarter, a region in South Western Saudi Arabia traditionally considered a no-mans-land.

The Empty Quarter
By John Herlihy

No bush, shrub or tree as far as the eye could see,
Only undulating dunes like gentle waves in the sea.
The expanse scorned any thought of lively green,
Burnished russet, a place exactly what it seemed.

No bee flew by with a hum, no pigeon there to coo;
The only moisture to find way is early morning dew.
No stream as amber smooth, no rivulet as amber clear,
Could be seen to flow or heard to murmur softly here.

No sparrows hiding among the leaves or flying high;
In this harsh desert, they lie down and quietly die.
No a drop of rain to awaken this land in thirst;
Parched lips smack and utter oaths of the accursed.

If paradisal gardens flourish and prove to be fair,
This expanse of nothing can only prove to be bare.
The air a hot furnace not offering a single breath;
One single intake would invite the curse of Seth.

At night, the winds howl about the wages of sin;
Eerie sounds can be heard as voices of the jinn.
The empty quarter has no equal in such as this;
Better to be left alone and abandoned in an abyss.