Under The Red Hot Sun

Beneath the fiery fury,

Of the red hot Australian sun,

Dust is baked into parchment,

And the lost are brought undone.

A furnace at the end of the road,

The heat waves shimmer like fire,

From asphalt that is melting,

At 50 degrees and higher.

The air itself scorches,

Each time your body inhales,

Gasping on the thin, hot breath,

Spinifex hardened to nails.

Tornadoes, small but powerful,

Dust devils appear from nowhere,

They whip the silty red ore,

Cyclonically into the air.

How could life ever exist?

So oppressive is this heat,

But look carefully around you,

There are tracks made by little feet.

To populate, even thrive,

Life has magically found a way,

After dusk the animals come alive,

Then retreat from the heat of the day.

Not a drop of water is seen,

The creekbeds, cracked and dry,

Then suddenly a quaking thunder-burst,

And a cascade from the sky.

Lightning fizzes and crackles,

Booming thunder like an explosion,

Scorching hot air has met the cold,

And set a storm in motion.

This is northern Australia,

Where the red hot sun doth rise,

A sunburnt land we call it,

Filled with wonder and surprise.

David Vitali 2017.