Desert by Patricia Hooper

Desert

by Patricia Hooper

Where there's a river,

that tastes of direction.

Where there's an orchard,

that says survival.

Where there's a desert,

that changes everything,

as if earth hadn't wanted

to fill only her own need.

This very compact poem was published in the October 1971 issue of Poetry. The photo above was taken by me in the vicinity of Goldfield, Nevada a few years ago.

I love this poem, not just its compactness, but its directness.

Rivers give directions. Orchards provide sustenance, and therefore survival.

But deserts? "That changes everything" according to the poet. The last stanza seems like it should say the opposite, the directions and food are not things that the earth needs, but what people need.

I read it, though, as someone who loves desert landscapes. I think they give something as important as what rivers and orchards provide: beauty. Of course, water and trees are also beautiful, but that is kind of desert's thing. As far as survival, a desert does not give, but it takes, at least compared to rivers and orchards.

This is not entirely true, but it seems so, superficially, and at least as far as humans are concerned. Communities are built near water sources. Farms and orchards are planted. Deserts attract people, of course, but so much is needed to make them hospitable, and even then life can be tough, especially for folks living rough.

I love this poem. It made me think. It allowed me to post one of my own photos. And it introduced me to a poet I was unfamiliar with. Hooper is from Michigan and she now lives in North Carolina. She also writes children's books.

You can read more of her poetry here.

The Tampa Review interviewed her in 2020, and you can read that here.