24. STORM OF DESERT

Shante Pele

Was there too

In the desert...

She wore teeshirt and cutoffs

Or nothing at all

Lived in a tent near the springs

One day it rained cats and dogs

And the desert came forth with flowers

And Shante Pele was one of the flowers.

I didn't recognize her years later

Hair turned gray

Beautiful as ever though.

Even the desert changes with time

And with man:

Men blew up the hotsprings

Capped it off

So people wouldn't gather there anymore.

They perceive such incredible beauty

To be a threat

To the ways of the ugly world

They prefer so badly.