DustLand
the gravel in my neck
keeps me straightforward,
eyes on the road ahead,
but I’m going nowhere
here, in DustLand,
dry isn’t just a season,
it’s a way of life,
& like all good survivors,
we adapt, blood
turns to sand,
eyes film over
to protect themselves
from seeing too much
too closely; listen –
you can hear the
desert’s secrets
on cue, at dusk –
a soft rustling, flutters
of distant laughter,
moth wings so big they flap,
swooping bats, & a
low roaring wind,
mountain scented,
hot air, thick & stifling
the cotton in my throat
keeps me silent, mind
on the road ahead, but still,
I’m going nowhere
Thistle Thoughts 
I absolutely love this one. It appeals to my post apocalyptic sensibility. Mind if I write some fiction based on this one?
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Thanks. Go for it!
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I agree with Just Another Writer about the post-apocalyptic setting of your poem: You’ve distilled one of those kind of stories down to the essence. We don’t need details of the reason for the world-changing event, or how many survivors are left. The important thing is the transformed mindset of a survivor, and the hopelessness of going nowhere.
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I was just writing about spring here in the Vegas desert, but the level you’ve all taken it to is cool with me. 🙂
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Funny where your mind goes … I’ve never lived near a desert — I live in the Eastern U.S. So my experience with deserts is through TV, movies, and books.
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I’m not a fan of it, I’ll be honest. I’m from the wintery north of Michigan originally & I really want to go back.
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This hits me where I live. You and I see the desert differently but I often wonder why it’s solace for me even when it hurts; if it’s self-harm I could just as easily crave a frozen landscape (and being a Wisconsin native I’ve got plenty of shots at that for much of the year). This poem is making me ponder that. Beautiful job. ♡
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The cold hurts me differently & not as much. I think that’s why I prefer it. I love the cold desert nights for sure! Thank you for reading, Sun. ❤
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I also noted the dystopian feel of this poem. I think it makes a good metaphor. And I love the description of the natural environment with the moth and bat. It adds depth to the emotion in the poem.
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Thanks, Constance
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Brings to my mind lizards and muses fluttering at the peripherals and a Jungian Christ tangling with thoughts of his father in solitude. But that’s my thought spaghetti spiraling 😉 hugs to you X
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🙂 That’s pretty amazing, and a poem in itself. ❤
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🙂 NaPo instead of (very extended) nappy brain for me at last, maybe?! Your poems do that to me! X
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Reminds me of an old Robert Plant song, “Big Log”. Kind of a wandering aimlessly song.
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Very cool. 👍 Thanks for reading!
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A marvellous poem! You are able to the convey the feeling of this poem so well! I mean travelling through the desert, and the internal emotions too! I felt I was in your place and could experience everything! I think it takes great skill to write like this! Simply awesome!
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Wow, thanks
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Welcome.
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