The Sertao, Brazil, November

A flat infinity of stunted bushes like skeletons of thin black bones;
a crewcut fringing bald pates of boulders riskily pallid in the sun;
the burning earth as if submerged under patient scrub,
an occasional cactus or palm tree coming up for air;
the dry land waiting for water, imploring rain;
all life in limbo.
Then the sudden shock of vivid yellow blossom on some roadside trees.