The Frailty of Water

Tucker Riggleman

I have never seen the desert
But I have drank its sand until
My stomach became glass
An echo chamber of ribs
Fashioned as porcelain
Piano keys

I have never seen the desert
But I have tasted its flowers
Sepia & turquoise
Digested adobe blooms prosper
In the sunburnt teeth
Of coyotes

I have never seen the desert
But I have worn its totem
A deep promise to remember
The wind songs of snakes
& the frailty of water
Sleeping beneath

Tucker Riggleman is a musician and poet in love with the woods and water of his home, West Virginia. His work has been featured in the Travelin’ Appalachians Revue zines, The Good News Paper, Fluent Magazine, and in his self-published book of poetry, Japanese Maple.
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