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XEROPHYTE

dry rocks
spiky leaves
thorns
and more thorns
prickly green
scant green
harsh sun
breaks the rocks

harsh winds
want to uproot
every shoot

only the sturdies critters
can live here
as long as they find a shadow
as long as they don't need water

all layers of this geological cake
are exposed to the elements

a sea existed here
but dried out

uncountable crust shifts
have turned this land into
crystals and hard edges

there's nothing soft here
nothing welcoming

yet life thrives
in that peculiar beauty
the beauty of the things that cost

the buoyancy of the fittest
the survival of the sturdiest

flaky rocks under your feet
rarely a jeep track

small leaves among long thorns

the wind bends trees into submission

and the morning dew is the only
water one would ever lick

and the cool nights the only
thing resembling any kind of comfort

this is nature's Sparta

hot sun
strong wind
thorny plants
small lizards

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