Cactus Skin

by Kim Upchurch

Photography by Nicole Moore

must we become a desert cactus—

our world ever hotter ever more volatile?

surely we will grow waxy skin

to conserve fluids long before

we must conserve fuel;

our pores will shrink

and open only at night —

we cannot sleep from the heat—

and hope breezes bring the remedy;

we—who have mastered so many many

things—will surely master moisture and heat;

surely we—who hoard wealth and excess

so well—will excel at collecting water;

or maybe even make it from scratch…

we have already grown the prickly

barbs and spikes we need for the job.