Cold Desert

Between the mountains and past the stream,
Where the sun shines cold and little grows,
Lies a frigid desert seldom seen,
Its lonely life nobody knows.

Too often man has trudged a trail,
Through wisping sand and lonely stones,
One by one, they fell, too frail,
Gritty sand masking their frozen bones.

A sad tale indeed
Of those who did not last.
But those who are led by greed,
Are claimed by the desert's grasp.

An unforgiving place, this land can be,
And mercy unto those who disagree.

-adam ward