Desert Dweller

Insects that buzz and sting
birds that hover and hum
befriend plants
armed with spears barbs and hooks
chanting
"You cannot pass without blood sacrifice.

All who pass must do penance!:

© 2025 Bruno Talerico
Stafford challenge 140/365.

Hidden behind desert sandstone
coiled secrets of serpent wisdom
advise caution.

Weary wanderers become wary 
at sounds of hiss and rattle, 
cautiously navigating
the dusty invisible path that leads to madness—
or the well of enlightenment.

Unaware that the path of madness
easily misleads toward
trails of temptation and torment.

Most creatures in the dry lands 
bite or sting, most plants poke and grab.

Unprepared outsiders
moan and groan
suffering from blisters,
sunburn and suicide itch.
Unrelenting thirst
and hunger for answers unsatisfied.

Unaware that
they are asking the unanswerable
and seeking the unknowable
in a land that offers only
challenges, pain and death.

© 2025 Bruno Talerico
Stafford challenge 139/365.

The saxophone serenade
soothes the soul
with airy sonnets
and meandering Jazzy rhythms
heart and feet coerced
to synchronize.

© 2025 Bruno Talerico
Stafford challenge 138/365

gray sky diffuse light
long day divided by rain
deadly afternoon

© 2025 Bruno Talerico
Stafford challenge 137/365.

oh first summer rain
damp dust and creosote scent
wet footprints on tile

© 2025 Bruno Talerico 
Stafford challenge 136/365

morning mist rises
vibrant scent of petrichor
cat prints on pavement

© 2025 Bruno Talerico
Stafford challenge 135/365.

On pedestals in high towers
overlooking racing rats,
autumn breezes blow.
Tarnished chrome
reflects disturbing beauty.

Blood on his sleeve, 
he walks among the living,
but doesn’t belong. 
bible in his head,
daggers in his heart.

Professor of war,
master of sin,
he savors bloody-rare filet.
Through smokey window,
someone starves unnoticed.
 
Jealous specters chase dreams,
fleeing nightmares in mass graves.

Rusted statues stand proudly
in pools of blood,
asking with sincerity,
“what’s in it for me?”

© 2025 Bruno Talerico  
Thoughts about disparity.
Stafford challenge 134/365.

In the hazy glow of life
moments blend like the gleam of old whiskey
and profound questions measure my worth.

Am I Happy? 

Do I embrace my daily routine
or does drudgery haunt the day's close?

How much time do I stop to savor
delights and passions?

Who are the good people,
cherished souls drawing near?

Do I tend those bonds 
or do sands of time pull us apart?

Where reflections blend 
in the mirror's gaze,
what do I need to change?
Should I make big decisions
or take a leap of faith?

In a world that aches, 
with souls in pain
What am I doing for others
to heal their hearts?

What comes next, as the journey unfolds?
Answers won’t be found in distant skies,
Our art is found in the search for truth.

© 2025 Bruno Talerico
Stafford challenge 133/365.

When I walk in nature
and look inside
I realize
the whole world has fallen
and is open to receive me.

People and land
are good medicine
for each other.

© 2025 Bruno Talerico 
Stafford challenge 132/365.

In the absence of
satellite, cable or cell phone,
connected to earth and sky,
I am constantly learning 
to listen to something
more  interesting than the talk of men.

No need for academic literature,
analyzing and sorting worries,
or mystical  literature,
presenting prayers and praise,
but occasional, oblique,
unformed words.

Sunlight reflecting wisdom 
off rare puddles in the sand. 

© 2025 Bruno Talerico
Stafford challenge 131/365.