The Badlands

Here in the badlands, plants that can’t be eaten
Litter the ground
And animals that can’t be caught
Flourish and abound.

Here in the badlands there is suffering
Heat smothers like a
Freshly-dried blanket
And the winds, they
Howl mercilessly, leaving everything
Deaf and coated and numb.

And here, the badlands, they
Are resplendent in their primal beauty,
A churning, roiling heavens
As the sun touches the lands to the west.
Land of the Big Sky,
An airy monolith, an unforgiving master.

In the badlands,
Men and women live
And die, work
and lie in sweet repose.
Make love,
Tell stories and eat fruits
As if they were delicacies.

The badlands crush you
With heat and aridity
But build you up strong for a life
Outside of the roaring sands.