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A hot,
burning wind scorches the valley floor,
as small ‘dust-devils’ twirl and
play,
sucking up sand and sage,
then discarding them like unwanted toys.
In the
distance a lake appears out of nowhere,
a welcome sight to a thirsty traveller,
only to disappear upon approach,
like a cruel joke.
And on
the side of a hill men toil,
sweat flowing like rivers,
digging into the hillside looking for silver,
in Calico, California, 1881.
Dreams of
fortunes and a life of plenty,
with silver and Borax for the taking,
but a dream short-lived and falling apart,
and finally only a ghost of a town.
Yet all
is not lost in the American Dream,
as one man comes to the rescue,
and now the town lives on for all to see,
if only as an oddity.
But the
desert is unchanged,
as ‘dust-devils’ twirl and lakes
appear,
and sand and sage get tossed about,
while men seek their fortunes in Calico.
by David Ronald Bruce Pekrul
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