Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.
By Charles HenryPhelps1105 Yuma
W
Sand-swept, parched, and cursed of fate;
Burning, but how passionless!
Barren, bald, and pitiless!
Glared upon thy whited dunes;
Fiercely drank thy streamless runs;
Is the blare of the simoon,
Piercing burnt unweeping skies
With its awful monodies.
Where the emigrant lies dead;
Where the Gila Monster crawls,
Hot and hideous as the sun,
To the dead man’s skeleton;
And the hot hell overhead,
And the blazing, seething air,
And the dread mirage are there.