Mojave Night

I step across the threshold

from the well defined world

of my living room

into the dark unknown

of a star splattered night

ruled by a quicksilver moon

The peace of stillness embraces me

like a living presence

beside me in the darkness

Sudden silence opens my ears

to subtle songs of the night

heard in all directions

Wind sighs a dry tale

whispers through the paper spikes

of the old Joshua tree

wizened and ground pointing

along twisted crazy columns

Blades turning above my house

my wind generator

churns moving air into electricity

almost an organic sound

as if it was born there

In the deep distance

coyote cries freedom

declares the hunt

yips erupt across the night

like scattered echoes repeating

the chase is on

some hapless rabbit

won’t see the sunrise

From an unseen perch

an owl claims hunting rights

and the rodent nation

goes on full alert

My eyes adapt

moonlight and shadow

woven into infinite lace

shaped like Joshua tree

juniper buckwheat creosote

rock and sand and distant hills

A swath of stars

like sugar sparkles

smeared across the black bowl of sky

marks the Milky Way

blazing east to west

There to show the way

for those who pass

on their final journey home

Edward Hanson