Bad Lands

Sweltering heat.
Dry, scorched earth.
Alive with Life,
despite the formidable aura
cast over all the eyes can see.

Mud swallows
Flit and swoop
Alive with energy,
feeding hungry mouths
peeking from mud tenements.

Prairie dogs
Jack-in-the-boxes,
Alive in community,
Pop-up to chirp their messages,
Scamper, then disappear,
into earthen tunnels.

Black footed ferrets,
on the edge of extinction,
Alive with new numbers,
Reborn to thrive again

Rocks and soil,
Painted in browns, golds, reds.
Alive with color
Against a blue, blue sky.
Could Monet have done
Any better?

Bad lands…
Bad for who?

Copyright 2022 by Gail Ouimet