Death And Life In The Desert Poem by Juan Olivarez

There's a little Antelope squirrel,
munching on a Prickly Pear,
No cares has he, in all the world.

And a Western Diamondback,
flicking it's tongue from a rocky crack,
for guile, stealth and cunning, he has the knack.

There's a White Desert Iguana, doing his push-ups,
on a big piece of Quartz, and often stops,
to puff out his throat, till it threatens to pop.

A Greater Road Runner comes racing by,
A pencil cholla thats stands five feet high,
kicking up dirt to the desert sky.

Racing around the Prickly Pear,
he scares the fruit out of the Antelope squirrel.

That madly runs toward a crack,
Where lying in wait is the Diamondback.

But the White Desert Iguana, takes a hand,
Burning up the desert sands.

Distracting the Diamondback in time,
And the Antelope squirrel stops on a dime.

So the Road Runner stops a while to make,
A meal of that delicious snake.

Calm returns the commotion dies,
The dirt falls back from out the skies.

The Antelope Squirrel, begins to clean,
his fur to it's normal lustrous sheen.

And all across the burning wastes,
Life goes on day, after day,

Road Runners race across the sands,
White Desert Iguanas continue their push-ups,
The Desert Tortoise drags across the land,
The Jack-Rabbit running in leaps and hops.

Life is hard, and life can be cruel,
but the life of the desert, is the rule of law.
They may drink together at a desert pool,
Always mindful of their teeth and claws.

5/22/10 29 palms ca.