Ode To A Drought

Our 100-degree days linger. The once lush prairie grasses have turned to straw.  Ephemeral islands of greenery and the hardiest of wildflowers cling to life. Except for the hours just after sunrise, prairie wildlife avoids the anvil of the sun. An eerie quiet hangs over the Llano Plain.

Lone hawk soars, hark, meadow lark sings,

And swallows skim silver sage on swift wings.

Wildflowers splash color, defy the drought,

The chatter in burrows is of courage, not doubt.

Prairie beasts languish, uncertain their fates,

Dead cattle bode ranches with closed gates.

Green meadows, dew, a running water draw,

The stuff of dreams, entombed in prairie straw.

Ranchers, farmers bow heads on bent knees,

Entreat the Almighty for storms, a cool breeze;

To wet furrows of corn and sorghum with rain,

And ease the sun’s grip and dust on the plain.

The Staked Plain dances to a familiar tune,

Yearns for hit-or-miss rains, craves their boon.

Lest one forgets, thunderstorms do surprise,

Their torrents quench dearth, arouse paradise.


© Ilija Lukić 2012

Scurfy Pea (psoralidium tenuiflorum)

Hope Springs Eternal (Yellowspine Thistle)

Ghost Of Groucho Marx (bouteloua gracilis, Blue Grama)

Ready To Bloom (dieteria canescens, aka Hoary Tansyaster)

Elegant Hostess (Western Honey Bee on Engelmann's Daisy)

Sunflower Head Clipping Weevil (haplorhynchites aeneus)

 Desert Straw (stephanomeria pauciflora, aka Wire Lettuce)

Spiny Golden Aster (haplopappus spinulosus)

Ode To A Drought (tribulus terrestris, aka Puncturevine)