on cacti

i loved living in the desert.
we spent two years
in tucson and one
in santa fe. people
say you get used to
the mountains, don’t really
see them after a while,
but i never did.
the saguaros in the desert
were the best. always
waiting to embrace you with
their albeit prickly open arms.
they look so much
like people i was always
alarmed when one of them died.