Poetry Prompts

Saguaro Death

Haibun Poetry Prompt

Photo by Nanci Arvizu

The smell is prevalent
Its stinkiness signals death

The saguaros are falling
They’ve had enough lack
They’ve had enough extremes
and they are dying

Slowly they begin to tilt
as their flesh begins to rot
as their skeletons begin to break
and they fall to the desert floor

Where we no longer see them
standing tall in the skyline
I’m so grateful to have witnessed
this view

Fewer of them stand
One day they will all be gone
What will this look like without them?

How long might their bones last?
Long enough to be found by someone
who never saw one standing?

Photo by Author

How does one explain such a thing
to eyes who will never see it for themselves?