(x = space)
x
x
The Salton Sea
x
I’d like to go into
The desert
Because I don’t know what
I’m saying,
Which isn’t true:
I lived in California
For a time
Went to the desert there
Saw the stars
At night
One day went to Palomar
Never got to
The Salton Sea,
Not knowing what I would
Have found then—
A miasma of
Mismanagement shown
In rusty signs and
Rotted beams
Or tries at reclamation:
Burying
Dead animals
Nailing together boathouses,
Pubs,
And homes
Maybe re-servicing
The Navy base
Maybe putting back in
All the water
That used to be there,
That kept
The crafted ocean
And habitation
Viable
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash
x
May 4, 2021 at 3:44 pm
Beautiful poem. I’ve been to the deserts in California. They left an impression in me.