Deep, the Desert Darkness

Deep, the desert darkness
Lays soft along my shoulders.
Gently it seeps into my breath
And stills my blood and mind.
Like an old friend it comforts me
And bids me unburden my heart.

Moonless, I see by starlight
After the fire has died.
The outlines of my canyon walls
Could be stripes behind my eyelids.
In this place, so thick and still is the black,
I could sleep with eyes open.

The moon rises, a herald, just before the sun
Its white a sweet and silent warning.
Soon the orb illuminating the horizon
Will once again sear these ancient stones.
Fundamental. Water and shelter, my only need.
Discovery, my only reason for being.