A dedication — made crossing the Mojave, and other deserts

The lore is for waking
Dreams lost in machines
For what dwells between and beyond
For virtues forgotten
Wiped virtual clean
For living lives worthy of song

The lore is for sweat
The lore is for toil
A heart full of blood
A fist full of soil
For hands of the small
Making worlds meant to fall
For love unleashed
To save us all
For evil’s end
For good

The lore is for sons
Stricken young who fight on
For daughters born burning
Love’s fire borne strong
For fathers and brothers
In arms though long gone
For mothers and sisters
Who bear every wrong
And wash the dirt
The hurt to heal
The souls of holes
We bare to feel
Whole and human
Born clean
Redone

The lore is for all
Of us dear friends
To recall
Forever and again