THE DESERT IS CALM

 

calm is not something
i am accustomed to
taking time to be

the desert is slow
quiet
loud
vast,

the desert is

It seems as though all I have done in our first few days here is cook and eat (but thank god we have a kitchen now!). And when I’m not eating, I’m thinking about eating. Cooking has at least kept me occupied, and I enjoy the company of others cooking with me. It is a real team effort. Even with limited food, we have made some delicious meals.

I remember only six years ago telling my friends that the government can’t be trusted and they were only in it for themselves, only to be called a conspiracy theorist. Now look where we are: forced to take part in a brutal war in exchange for what keeps us alive. It is ironic, right? Exchanging another’s death for your life. I decided a long time ago not to sign up for the draft, which has its consequences. There is, of course, having to find your own water, which is difficult in the desert. But most of all, the government doesn’t like defiance.

Still no word from my husband.