in effect, is how the desert ripples
through the longitude of California
and throws the surface toward
heaven. It explains how
the beach-homes of the stars
are eaten: liquefaction
sinks the pillars into the
underestimated Earth. It defines
why the unforgiving highway
juts edge upon edge for miles
extended across the glaring desert
nowhere — why the power of collision
can be witnessed. The immense strength
that presses the insuperable Earth
upon itself, forces its boundaries
into change like mountains
or quarter mile shifts
in the Mississippi,
all radiates from
the contained point
of a single
touch.
