Anatole Serret

A thick fata morgana
That flickers from afar
A dance on the horizon
To chords of steel guitar
The squinting heat of summer
Her unforgiving kiss
But even with my eyes closed
My heart knows where it is

I love a sunburnt country
A desert red with rage
For sixty thousand orbits
The land a dusty stage
Of ancient rock formations
And winds from way out west
Whose strength can almost silence
The beating in my chest

How life is running through her!
Especially at night
If ever you’ve been outback
You know the sound alright
A chorus of cicadas
And other thirsty vein
The begging for an answer
The steady, soaking rain

Though earth holds many splendours
However grand or strong
I know to what red country
My homing thoughts belong