But I have crossed so many deserts,
thirsty with dry air
sliding down my aching throat
and raisining my lungs

and have felt so many
grains of sand like
tiny biting fleas
crawling underneath my skin
and gnawing at my bones.

So I walked across the deserts
and I came to pulsing sea
and waded in to wash away
the dust and dull and dirt.

And it felt so good- so good, my dear,
to sit and soak and see

the birds that turn
with humid songs
to serenade the sun.

the fish that swim
through endless waves
to catch the running wakes.

the seasons passing slowly by
and leaving me in peace--

And I was so very tired, love,
And so I stayed to sleep.