Desert Longing

four wheel drive
a coyote crosses the road
and i slow

i forget how far
the turn off
is
from here
so i find the
silhouette in the distance
windows lit
a beacon of light
leading me home

i thank God
por la tierra
i leave the kitchen
just to walk around
outside
the house
with my shoes
off

i had almost
forgotten
the vastness of the sky here
the way the clouds
form
into indescribable
forms
and light plays
on the ground below

compost and kitties
grashoppers the size
of mice
whose wings sing
as they fly in short bursts
around the
yard

i can see the milky way
from the
front porch at night
while
bats sear the sky-
lightning bolts in
almost purple
flashes

thunder rolls out
as though
from the womb
of the Earth
herself
and it shakes the ground
i stand on-

not even my happiest days in the city
can compare
with the bliss

of this.