You stand where the red soil is dry
Under a wide Santa Fe sky
The brass lens is open and wide
With nowhere left for you to hide
Unravel the light in the heat
Where the sand and the metal meet
Turn the dial and focus the glow
Watch the desert gardens grow
You trace every vein in the leaf
The patience of growth is a thief
Like Opuntia spines in the wind
You find where the distance begins
The motel veranda is cold
The story of orbit is told
You look for a root in the glare
While oxygen thins in the air
Unravel the light in the heat
Where the sand and the metal meet
Turn the dial and focus the glow
Watch the desert gardens grow
Dig deep in the grit and the clay
Wait for the gold of the day
The telescope breaks in your hand
Sifting the salt from the sand
The Latin names fade from your tongue
Where the heavy night air has clung
You plant a new seed in the rust
Building a world out of dust
Unravel the light in the heat
Where the sand and the metal meet
Turn the dial and focus the glow
Watch the desert gardens grow
Focus the glow.
Focus the glow.
Brass and bone.
