Sometimes the sun is still trying
to get to the horizon
when a daylight moon comes up,
fragile and almost transparent,
the ghost of a white bird
with damaged wings,
blown from its course and lost
in the huge desert sky.
It is the least protected
of all unprotected things.
A little wind goes by
through the greasewood
heading home to its nest
among blue-veined stones
where it will circle three times
and curl up to sleep
before darkness falls
straight down
like a tile from the roof
of a tall building.
There are families of stones
under the ground.
As the young stones grow
they rise slowly like moons.
When they reach the surface
they are old and holy
and when they break open
they give off a rich odor,
each blooming once in the light
after centuries of waiting.
Those who have lived here longest
and know best
are least conspicuous.
The oldest mountains are lowest
and the scorpion sleeps all day
beneath a broken stone.
If I stay here long enough
I will learn the art of silence.
When I have given up words
I will become what I have to say.
About the Author
Richard Shelton was a distinguished poet, author, and professor at the University of Arizona. Known for his evocative depictions of the desert landscape and his influential prison writing workshops, Shelton's contributions to American poetry are vast and deeply impactful. Discover many other poets of Arizona HERE.
Summary
Shelton observes moon, wind, stones, mountains and a hidden scorpion as participants in an ancient desert order. By remaining in that landscape, the speaker hopes eventually to exchange language for a deeper form of understanding.
Analysis
The poem repeatedly overturns ordinary assumptions about age and life. Stones grow like organisms, wind goes home to sleep, old mountains become low rather than imposing, and the creatures that understand the desert best remain hidden. These images prepare the philosophical ending rather than merely decorating it. The speaker gradually realizes that understanding the desert requires becoming less conspicuous and less verbal. “The art of silence” therefore becomes both an ecological lesson and a theory of poetry: the ultimate expression may arrive when language itself is relinquished.