Typical Tucson July

early morning ride saw
straw colored buffel grass
covered hills and flats
the desert floor resembling
yellow-tan tatami mats

contrast the verdant greens
of the bushes and trees
the aloe’s silver-blue greens
the dry, desert landscape
a somber, mottled scene

two roadrunners crossed my path
as did a couple of lizards
foregoing their pushups today
as three scorpions hightailed it
right and left, out of our way

as we rolled along the bike-laned
bank of the dry Santa Cruz
a few pigeons sailed over us
paused nearby, then flew away
too busy to stop and snooze

too much to lose on a typical
Tucson morning in early July

–LE – 7/9/24