.
Alentours du volcan Izzeguerit, sur le Bagzane (Aïr Mountains, Niger): photo by Jacques Taberlet, 2002
In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter -- bitter", he answered,
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart."
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter -- bitter", he answered,
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart."
Issouane Erg, Sahara Desert, Algeria: image by ISS Crew Earth Observations and Image Science & Analysis Group, Johnson Space Center, 16 January 2005 (NASA)
Sand dunes in Rub'al Khalia, Arabia's "Empty Quarter": image from Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, or ASTER, aboard the Terra satellite, by NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDA/JAROS and US/Japan ASTER Science team, 12 December 2005 (NASA)
Erg Chebbi, Morocco: photo by Rosino, 10 January 2006
Stephen Crane (1871-1900): "In the desert...", from The Black Rider and Other Lines, 1895
"I cannot help disappearing and dissolving. It is my foremost trait."
