The Desert Poem by Leah Ayliffe
The Desert
The purple sky grew darker as it emerged from the left of the horizon
White lightening flashed through the sky
But it was nothing to be afraid of
It was beautiful.
In the desert which usually gives the sense of decay and dry air
It feels quite calm and refreshed.
The horse is content tied next to a palm tree
Which didn’t seem to mind that it was the only tree for miles around
A famous ladder lazily rested next to a box that held the rainbow
Ready to be released back to the sky when the time arrived
The violets and vines that grow entwined around the ladder dream of sunny days
While waiting for rain.
That’s all that remains.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/4/2024 12:46:15 AM # 1.0.0.1119
Wow! What a vivid evocation of the desert! I've spent time in a desert, not as long as I wanted, but long enough to appreciate your poem. It was the desert outside Tucson Arizona. At the time I was furiously reading, re-reading and re-re-reading Garcia Lorca whose poems spoke to me in the clear desert air. I only wrote one poem BETWEEN TUCSON AND PHOENIX. And this is the poem I wished I had written. You open with an expansive vista of the whole landscape which dwarfs people and animals. Then in the poem's center a stillness descends on the horse, the land, the tree, you and the reader. It's an exhilarating moment sustained. but it's the magic of the rainbow in the box - that metaphor for the desert's sudden blooming when rain comes that makes aware of the transience of the appearance of this setting which only seems to be eternal in its dryness.