ruminations on desert ecosystems
bring to mind
all those scaly, spiky, hard survivors
making a good living
enduring thirst under a relentless sun
cleaners circle overhead, hovering in updrafts
or recon artists hoarding the dark close
in thermoregulation
each occasional succulent, an oasis
hidden in plain sight
and one yucca shoots up its centennial rocket
we all adapt

but did you know
that Islam allows the supplicant
missing a prayer rug
using brush at hand
to sweep a space in sacred earth
and absent clean water
permits ritual ablutions to be performed
using sand
all adapt

and when the rains come, sometimes
covert seeds race up spawning
flowers in that brief ocean
adapt

- kmf (RedSonja)