The Desert Song

The men sit waiting smoking
Time for action drawing near
The humour dark and bitter
No room for hope or cheer

The phone call comes from heaven
The voice he longs to hear
The words bring comfort to his heart
Replacing doubt and fear

Women run wildly through the streets
Seeking what they’ll never find
Panic replacing exuberance
A future undefined

The fighting starts too early
A cigarette a curse
Two swiftly off to hospital
Thinking both it might be worse

For tension grows like ivy
Clinging tight to every edge
Inside each man it flourishes
And reason soon has fled

Now he alone is tranquil
Understanding all life’s worth
He knows that she will wait for him
Across the spinning burning earth

As the sun retreats behind the hills
The rain falls in the desert
The tears flow down his deep lined face
To quench the flame in his heart