I HEARD THE DESERT CALLING

I heard the desert calling, and my heart stood still —

There was winter in my world and in my heart;

A breath came from the mesa, and a message stirred my will,

And my soul and I arose up to depart.

I heard the desert calling, and I knew that over there

In an olive-sheltered garden where the mesquite grows,

Was a woman of the sunrise with the star-shine in her hair

And a beauty that the almond-blossom blows.

In the night-time when the ghost-trees glimmered in the moon,

Where the mesa by the water-course was spanned,

Her loveliness enwrapped me like the blessedness of June,

And all my life was thrilling in her hand.

I hear the desert calling, and my heart stands still —

There is summer in my world, and in my heart;

A breath comes from the mesa, and a will beyond my will

Binds my footsteps as I rise up to depart.