Once Lived Here - Oct. 13, 2026

people now cover cactus

as trees are frying to a crisp

air conditioners run day and night

it’s too hot to swim

dogs’ feet burn and ours’

are back in the house by 8am

someday this desert

will return to its moonscape

with the bones of homes,

cracked divots of pools,

a giant crumbling museum

of walls, fences and dead trees

fireplaces that still stand

will be guarding ghosts

long gone

and the sand will return

to cover all evidence

that joy once lived here