A Definition Of Life.... Poem by RIC BASTASA

it is the feeling
of a desert that we
feel sometimes
deep in our
hearts on
some nights
following

completely dark
the stars are not
there

you miss the howl
of the jackal

or the strong sounds
of the sandstorm

you hate this
void
you want to expel
it
you draw the desert
and then
erase it

you paint a cactus
and you wash it
away on the
canvass

what remains
is the coarse
cloth and the
frame of
silver

tabula rasa
you begin again
on the blankness
and the bluntness
of your
thinking

you stop
and ponder and
make a definition
of life...