The desert doesn't care.

On this chill morning in early Fall, the seasons begin their change as they have for so very long in the time measured by desert time. The desert doesn't care. It has seen the seasons come and go. Even with constant change, not much changes. The desert doesn't care.

The desert has seen the people come and scurry about very quickly in the time measured by desert time. The people make marks that take a few eye blinks in desert time for the elements to reclaim into the desert. The people themselves do not last, only their marks. The desert doesn't care.

One time the desert saw people come and scurry and build structures that would take the elements a little longer in desert time to reclaim, then they went away. The desert doesn't care.

The desert has seen the sun rise once every morning and felt its heat, which has been the measure of desert time. Then that day the desert saw a second sun close to the surface, and the heat of the sun was very hot, much hotter than normal. The structures were gone in a flash, both in desert time and in time. That night, the desert was very still, more still than normal, because nothing was alive in that part of the desert.

The flash left an activity in the surface of the desert, an activity that will take quite a while even in desert time before it stops. The desert doesn't care. Even with this very big change, little has changed here and now the surface where the flash was is desert again. The one thing that is constant is the desert doesn't care.

Every year on this day more people come and scurry about very quickly in the desert where the flash was. Then they are gone and the desert doesn't care. The desert can wait until not very long in desert time when no people will come anymore. Then it will just be desert again.

Warren didn't come today.
The desert doesn't care.
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Sam Lepore, San Francisco