purple mountains

you swallow
hard
in the dry
desert air
your tongue
has rolled
up like a dust
mat
in the sun.
the cacti
look tempting
as do
the brush
and lizards
that go nowhere
but under
the sweet
shade of
a hot rock.
the desert is wide
and deep.
the sand
as white
as a beach.
those backs of
mountains
in the purple
distance
is what you're
shooting for.
barefoot
and alone, like
how you
were born.