Wild Flowers in the Desert

picture by Bill

Unlike flowers
tended in home gardens

desert flowers appear spontaneously
along roads and hillsides.
These delicate wispy blossoms,

with only a hint of color,
are felt rather than seen

while I'm driving by at seventy miles
an hour but when the eyes are trained

the flora reveals itself in hues of
purple, orange or gold.

Out among the stones and cacti
these frail sprigs of green

live for a little while
then wither and are gone
in the unrelenting sun

not to be seen again 'till
next spring.

Their blush of colors
along barren terrains

never adequately captured by a camera
nor forgotten by one's heart...
those delicate wispy blooms.