To a Mojado Who Died Crossing the Desert

After a storm saguaros glisten
                               like mint trombones.
           Sometimes a coyote leaps
over creosote.
                     Hush.
The sand calls out for more footprints.
                               A crack in a boulder
can never be an entrance
                                        to a cathedral
but a mouse can be torn open
                               like an orange.
Hush.
           The arroyo is the color of rust.
                               Sometimes a gust of snow
floats across the water
                     as gracefully as a bride.

wn Un