Strix

I saw the beasts that prowl the dunes, The serpents that coil in the heat, The lizards that dart through the dust, And I was filled with wonder. I heard of the great sandstorm, That can bury a man alive, And of the wandering oasis, That is the only refuge from the heat. For the first time, I saw life All around me in the sand; The scaly, the clawed, the fanged, All working together to survive. And in that moment, I understood Why they call it the land of the dead; For in the desert, life is a battle, And only the strong survive.