Desert Roadtrip

I drive
Windows down
Aircon off
As much to feel the heat
As to conserve fuel

The heat
Which makes my skin
Crackle
Like the way the gravel and sand
Grate against the soles
Of my boots

I love the heat
The way it whisks
The sweat from my body
The way it gets into everything
Even deep, inside the trunk
To the extra gallon of water
Which will still be hot
When, tonight, I pull into camp

Too hot to drink
Until I boil it
For hot tea
As the moon rises
Into darkened skies
Along with all that heat
Until the cold
Slides in
Underneath

And I love the cold too
As unfriendly
As unrelenting
As the heat
But a crisp, haughty presence
A challenge
Like the heat

Be prepared

From summer heat
To winter chill
All in the span
Of a setting sun
And the falling of dusk

Desert extremes