In Arizona
Take the rounding road west
Of Old Tucson, after the mock gunfight at high noon,
And stop at the Point where the
Grand Sonoran Desert is at its best-
I have scoured that desert
And found things stranger than arrowheads and old cans of A-1 Beer: seashells.
What is that?
Testimony to a forgotten time quite differing. Now the dark desert pavement,
Hardened by the harshest of heat there is,
Is underfoot, and Bigelow's Accursed chollas,
Looking like teddy bears,
Are poised to get you.
Rattlesnakes abound. There is something in the air, the smell of misfortune and ghastly death,
Around the corners of abandoned shacks, hanging black widows,
Broken window panes,
Ghost towns,
Where even the glass
Seems to melt
In your hands.
poem by Stan Petrovich
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Ode To A Road...
Into A Gold Sunset
And Silver Twilight Stars
Into Darkness of A Desert
And Coyote Choirs
And A Cold, Lonely Wind
Which Touches Warm Skin
And Stretches of Sand
On and On, Without End
On A Black-Top Road
By A Car’s High Beam
Heard An Oil Rig’s Ode
Lit, Like A Castle-Dream
Awake On An Interstate
Driving 101 – West
High Noon, Thru A Desert
Into A Gold Sunset …
poem by by unknown author
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Desert Rats
Desert rats
Take cover in the heat,
They know what to toss
And what to keep -
They skillfully hide under big sombreros
And down lots of water,
They've learned well when to sit, and when to quit,
When to stay, and when to scatter -
The desert calls them
Right to the edge of existence;
But, too wise are they, any foolish games to play,
For in the desert they have found the art of survival is patience -
Listen close my friends for the divine desert to call you...
By all means, come and see,
But, with eyes wide open tread slowly
Following the tracks of wise old desert rats...
Just like me.
(this is for my pal Juan O. A fellow 'desert rat'!)
poem by Smoky Hoss
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Questions to Desert Wind…
You wonder,
Did the desert wind already forgotten to past?
No dearest, it has always blown so gently…
Crafting this dry open desert,
Shifting mystical sand dunes,
Bringing precious droplets to a thirsty bird,
To comfort her broken heart!
You further asked,
O desert wind…
Why erased my written message in the sand?
So let it be a permanent secret,
Cause I have already engraved it in my heart.
poem by Desert Life
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A Tree in the Desert
A tree in the desert thirsts for water
A tree in the desert gets too much sun
A tree in the desert is alone in the freezing night
A tree in the desert might never be seen
A tree in the desert might never be touched
A tree in the desert may or may not thrive
A tree in the desert struggles to stay alive
poem by Leo Valencia
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Philosophers Bones
He’s given them all to a Desert Man
Underdog bitten holes of the head
He’s given them all to a Desert Man
Unleashed sunflower sunward led
He’s given them all to a Desert Man
In windblown power the dinas bled
He’s given them all to a Desert Man
Like tears in the desert rose shed
Stone alone atoned in the last sand clock
Soul alone attained keyed within the lock
poem by Miroslava Odalovic
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Ghost Rider
Pack up all those phantoms
shoulder that invisible laod
keep on riding north and west
haunting that wilderness raod
Like a ghost rider
carry all those phantoms
through bitter winds and stormy skies
from the desert to the mountain
from the lowest low to the highest high
Like a ghost rider
Keep on riding north and west
circle south and east
show me beauty, but there is no peace
for the ghost rider
shadows on the road behind
shadows on the road ahead
nothing can stop you now
there's a shadow on the road behind
there's a shadow on the road ahead
nothing can stop you now
sunrise in the mirror
lightens that invisable load
riding on that namless quest
haunting that wilderness road
like a ghost rider
just an escape artist
racing against the night
a wandering hermit
racing towards the light
for the whote sands
to the canyonlands
to the redwood stands
to the barren lands
sunrise on the road behind
sunset on the road ahead
there's nothing to stop you now
nothing can stop you now
song performed by by Rush
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Desert Plains
Full moon is rising
The sky is black
I need your call Im coming back
The road is straight cast
Winds in my eyes
The engine roars between my thighs
From desert plains I bring you love
From desert plains I bring you love
Wild mountain thunder
Echoes my quest
My body aches but Ill not rest
Quartz light to guide me
Till sunrise leads
My passion screams, my heart it bleeds
From desert plains I bring you love
From desert plains I bring you love
Then in the distance
I see you stand
On the horizon you raise your hand
In burning rubber
I end my quest
You fall into my arms at last
From desert plains I bring you love
From desert plains I bring you love
song performed by by Judas Priest
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Moses
Stoney paths underfoot,
And my courage it shook,
Dry mouth and cracked lips,
Will I ever find my way home again?
Walking through mountains high,
Sunset in a desert sky,
A nation in a foreign land,
Hearts broken by Pharaohs hand,
Burning bush, naked truth,
Here lie broken lives,
My heart it aches,
My love she waits,
The cycle of life repeated,
Betrayal not yet depleted,
Will we ever learn,
Bodies become ashes in an urn,
Walking through mountains high,
Sunset in a desert sky,
A nation in a foreign land,
Hearts broken by Pharaohs hand,
My star leads me, shining bright,
My people blinded by it's light,
Oh my visions are so grand,
But will we ever reach the promised land?
April 2012
poem by David Andre' Klopper
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Shine A Light In The Dark
Ive been lost before and I had to pay
It was never easy but I found a way
Well the journey was hard and the road was tough
There were times when I cried lord Ive had enough
Please dont desert me now
Dont you leave me stranded now I need a friend
Please dont desert me now
Youve gotta show me mercy when Im helpless
Show me mercy when Im helpless
Shine a light in the dark
Hold me back when I get reckless
Shine a light in the dark
Stand me up if I get legless
Shine a light in the dark
Shine a light in the dark
Shine a light in the dark
Ive been down and out and Ive been fit to drop
But the thought of you wouldnt let me stop
Now a man should stand upon his own two feet
Because the taste of failure is a bitter sweet
Please dont desert me now
I can hear the reaper calling in the wind
Please dont desert me now
Youve gotta show me mercy when Im helpless
Show me mercy when Im helpless
Shine a light in the dark
Hold me back when I get reckless
Shine a light in the dark
Stand me up if I get legless
Shine a light in the dark
Shine a light in the dark
Shine a light in the dark
Where were you when the chips were down
I fell apart when I hit the town
Where were you when I couldnt get arrested
Where were you when the lights went out
I blew a fuse, did you hear me shout
Where on earth do I look for heavens sake
Theres a brotherhood that I want to see
Gotta take my share of equality
Theres no harmony in a one man band
Even God almighty needs a helping hand
Please dont desert me now
Theres no time and I cant fight another day
Please dont desert me now
Youve gotta show me mercy when Im helpless
Show me mercy when Im helpless
Shine a light in the dark
Hold me back when I get reckless
Shine a light in the dark
Stand me up if I get legless
Shine a light in the dark
Shine a light in the dark
Shine a light in the dark
(repeat to fade)
song performed by by 10 Cc
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Little Black Bird
little black bird of Lia
flying away to Arizona
how is that little black
bird? what is it doing
in the desert? watching
how God paints a very
red orange sunset and
how the wind of the night
erases everything? Little
Black bird of Lia, what
is the reason for the
the leaving of devotion?
is sincerity still found
on that desert flower
blooming without water?
the cactus and some thorns
my loneliness deep like
the desert night, my longing
wide like the wind, my
illusions that life still
imitate art, that i can be
myself. Blackness and wings.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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At The Bomb Testing Site
At noon in the desert a panting lizard
waited for history, its elbows tense,
watching the curve of a particular road
as if something might happen.
It was looking at something farther off
than people could see, an important scene
acted in stone for little selves
at the flute end of consequences.
There was just a continent without much on it
under a sky that never cared less.
Ready for a change, the elbows waited.
The hands gripped hard on the desert.
poem by William Stafford
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Desert Inn
I never meet her in the city
But believe me she is pretty
Six-hundred-fifty miles away
I meet my angel in the desert
In the desert I can meet her
Oh in the desert heat she makes me play
Im not trying to be clever
Im not getting there forever
Only flying with the wind and thee
Im not trying to be late
Just becoming a slave
Come on angel, play the game
Im not trying to be clever
Im not getting there forever
Wont fight with the window on me
Im not trying to be late
Just becoming a slave
Come on angel, play the game
Shes never in the city
But the woman shes pretty
Six-hundred-fifty miles away
I meet my angel in the desert
In the desert I can meet her
In the desert heat she makes me pray
There is a race in your face
song performed by by Yello
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Desert Inn
I never meet her in the city
But believe me she is pretty
Six-hundred-fifty miles away
I meet my angel in the desert
In the desert I can meet her
Oh in the desert heat she makes me play
Im not trying to be clever
Im not getting there forever
Only flying with the wind and thee
Im not trying to be late
Just becoming a slave
Come on angel, play the game
Im not trying to be clever
Im not getting there forever
Wont fight with the window on me
Im not trying to be late
Just becoming a slave
Come on angel, play the game
Shes never in the city
But the woman shes pretty
Six-hundred-fifty miles away
I meet my angel in the desert
In the desert I can meet her
In the desert heat she makes me pray
There is a race in your face
song performed by by Yello
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Horse With No Name
On the first part of the journey
I was looking at all the life
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz
And the sky with no clouds
The heat was hot and the ground was dry
But the air was full of sound
Ive been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
cause there aint no one for to give you no pain
La, la ...
After two days in the desert sun
My skin began to turn red
After three days in the desert fun
I was looking at a river bed
And the story it told of a river that flowed
Made me sad to think it was dead
You see Ive been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
cause there aint no one for to give you no pain
La, la ...
After nine days I let the horse run free
cause the desert had turned to sea
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The ocean is a desert with its life underground
And a perfect disguise above
Under the cities lies a heart made of ground
But the humans will give no love
You see Ive been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
cause there aint no one for to give you no pain
La, la ...
song performed by by America
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Goincali
Well hed been hearing too many voices and feelin a little off-track
Like there was something big pressing down on his back
So he called up his friends and they said come on out west
Its a place where a man can really feel his success
So he pulled his heart and soul down off the shelf
Packed them next to the faith that hed lost in himself
Said his good-byes and when the dirty work was done
He turned his wheels into the fading sun
For seven days and nights like a black-top bird he sped
Maintained radio silence cept for in his head
And just like his folks did back in 69
He crossed the border at needles and heard the promised land on the line
Now where the transcontinental dumps into the sea
Theres a bar made up to look like 1963
Girl in the corner eyed him like a hungry dog a bone
As he brushed the desert dust off that mercedes chrome
Bartender said hey, hows it hangin, tiger?
He had a shot of tequila, smiled and whispered lighter
He went down to the desert city where the rattlesnakes play
And left his dead skin by the roadside in the noon of day
Sun got so hot it almost felt like friend
It could burn out every trace of where you been
There was a woman hed met in a desert song
A little while later a son come along
Looked at that boys smile and called it home
And that night as he lay in bed the only voice he heard was his own
song performed by by Bruce Springsteen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sonnet: The Desert-war
Two Eagles want a mouse as Baghdad’s King!
The Desert -Snake is too wily to swoop:
Once he is gone, they can have anything,
From oil and gasoline to camel-soup!
They encircled the Snake in the desert!
The Snake is swift and appears like mirage!
His oil-wells burn the two intruders' heart;
They cannot turn so fast to be his phage!
The Eagles know the Desert-Sun is hot!
They know they cannot bear the heat for long:
They take a risk but don't want to be caught;
They cannot take the country for a song!
The Eagles may be Kings of their own skies!
The Desert-Snake rules, though on belly lies!
poem by John Celes
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Monuments
Crystal the desert
Sands sifted in dry air
Sun flecked sparkling.
Wind plays out,
Whistling, weathering rock
Sculpting.
Sand blasts in desert storms.
Fine glass moulds, shapes,
Caresses, smooths.
Forged in the heat of the desert days
Cold of its night.
Making monuments to natures art.
Towers of pink and yellow
Watch over rock strewn plains
Waterless river beds
In silent serenity.
Copyright P H Brookes 2012
poem by Paul Brookes
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My Desert Serenade
(words & music by stan gelber)
Come here my serenade, my desert serenade
A lovers melody, to bring you close to me
Its a tender lullaby, born of golden sand and sky
The song is new, and its calling you
Tonight beside the desert palms
Come let me take you in my arms
Come here my serenade, my desert serenade
Wherever lovers dwell, it weaves its magic spell
Soon a thousand dreams will start,
And romance will fill your heart
My lips conceal, love thats warm and real
Give me a chance to hold you near
Youll see a brand new world appear
So come and hear, my desert serenade, my desert serenade,
My desert serenade
song performed by by Elvis Presley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Desert Rose
Words and music by sting
I dream of rain
I dream of gardens in the desert sand
I wake in vain
I dream of love as time runs through my hand
I dream of fire
Those dreams that tie two hearts that will never die
And near the flames
The shadows play in the shape of the mans desire
This desert rose
Whose shadow bears the secret promise
This desert flower
No sweet perfume that would torture you more than this
And now she turns
This way she moves in the logic of all my dreams
This fire burns
I realize that nothings as it seems
I dream of rain
I dream of gardens in the desert sand
I wake in vain
I dream of love as time runs through my hand
I dream of rain
I lift my gaze to empty skies above
I close my eyes
The rare perfume is the sweet intoxication of love
I dream of rain
I dream of gardens in the desert sand
I wake in vain
I dream of love as time runs through my hand
Sweet desert rose
Whose shadow bears the secret promise
This desert flower
No sweet perfume that would torture you more than this
Sweet desert rose
This memory of hidden hearts and souls
This desert flower
This rare perfurme is the sweet intoxication of love
song performed by by Sting
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Borderline
In a cloud of dust cross Texas south of San Antone
The lawman and the cowboy pushed their horses on
Racin' toward the Rio running out of time
They had to catch the Outlaws before they crossed the borderline
Well the lawman wanted justice the cowboy revenge
They tracked the Outlaws' horses up to the river's edge
And there across the Rio a badge ain't worth a dime
The law was in their own hands once they crossed the borderline
So they ride to the desert wind down a dusty trail destiny begins
Heroes never turn or look back
They just ride through the sands of time on the borderline
In the safety of the badlands the Outlaws stopped their run
The campfire rings with laughter of evil things they've done
How they'd taken all they wanted and killed the cowboy's wife
And knew no one would follow them cross the borderline
The lawman and the cowboys stepped out of the dark
And it was two against the twenty and every bullet found its mark
And so goes the legend that out there in the night
The two still ride together somewhere beyond the borderline
So they ride to the desert wind...
So they ride to the desert wind...
So they ride to the desert wind...
song performed by by Alabama
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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