Heat mirage cracked
asphalt rising

             She wind swims a palm thrums
             a beat on the glinting Cadillac

             She is hollow as a maimed saguaro
             thirsty as a laid up diamond back

From a constricted throat
she calls out nothing

              The soft flesh of her toes
             grinding metal to the mat

             The haloed crown of her head
             parading desert light—

a notion of what
lies beyond

Previously published in Leaf Garden, 2010