The Caballero

This road has taken me
Down to the valley of Availment:
Snakes under the cross of the shadows
Arch the cooking dust, cacti bramble
Their thorns in the confusion
Of evening's cold. I warmed my hands by twilight,
I begged the winds to let me sleep,
Especially when they hurried from the East,
Especially when the sun fell low,
Tumbling into the net of stars;
Then I cooked sausage and beans,
Feeding by the mouthful, washing it down with a handful
Of water, and listened to the whistle of the land,
The fire's crackle. I say there is a voice
Hidden in the silence, a dark communion
Spread about the climates of the earth,
And listen! — you can hear it speak.