This Infertile Valley

​You can’t satiate this thirsty ground Nothing of sustenance can be found No seeds I plant will germinate Yet I come here when hunger comes ‘round Here the tree roots only grow shallow The blood of the wounded has salted the soil Out on the skyline a thunderhead blooms A coyote is skulking along the arroyo It’s time to leave this infertile valley It’s time to leave this infertile valley The unfinished furrows, the abandoned plows The swords that forged them all nameless now The well has gone dry, the windmill is weary Foundations jut out like a sunken ship’s bow I saw you next to your dingy Volkswagen Slumped on its side with a busted back axle You were crank’n away on a rusty pump handle To coax one last drop forth through your sheer passion It’s time to leave this infertile valley It’s time to leave this infertile valley The ancient Maya and old Babylon Fell long ago and are long since gone It’s a matter on which academics debate Maybe they just felt like moving on It’s time to leave this infertile valley It’s time to leave this infertile valley It’s time to leave this infertile valley