A Desert Road

the electricity is white against
a clear blue sky - it sparkles
in the sun

the bellies of these beasts
ache with emptiness
as our bladders grow

and down in the
scrubland, we see
snow in the distance

we've been on the road
for at least five hours
but we have still more
mountains to climb

there is a tree on this road
with shoes - dozens
of pairs hanging
from barren limbs

it is a memorial to
the seasons and the
sky and earth
to those who are lost
and those who have found