Blue-green water

shimmers amongst the sand,

refracting sunbeams in

each and every direction.

The flaming giantess above

beats down

feeding the flora

and igniting the air.

Nocturnal animals

stay hidden away,

burrowing down beneath the surface

to find sweet, cool relief.

Summertime heatwaves

scorch this deserted land;

as she moves from East to West,

the temperature only grows more intense.

Beneath the sands

lie deep underground secrets

left behind by the ancients

as messages to their goddess:

heat herself.

From above,

sandstone engravings

of oddly shaped lines

create images of deities

long since forgotten.

Around noon,

the oasis nears boiling.

Skulls of large mammals

lay scattered about,

picked entirely clean

by the scavenging populous.

To beat the heat here

in Death Valley

is the ultimate achievement;

metabolisms slow

as the day drones by.

Here, survival is a delicate tango,

a battle of attrition

between the Great Sun

and life itself.

Pure nature,

essential and gorgeous,

untouched,

left alone to wage war.