And the saguaros stood above us.

And the saguaros stood above us

With mighty branch arms stretched out

Bent at powerful elbows

With biceps that almost rivaled a man’s

Or a warrior’s— fearlessly standing guard

Over creosote bushes and their blossoms

Over prickly pears and their petals

Over you and I beneath the tangerine-rouge sky of dusk.

And the saguaros stood above us

With mighty branch arms stretched out

Bent at powerful elbows

With biceps that almost mimicked an automatically perceived sense of masculinity

And a small sparrow found his thorns soft and yellow

And she perched at his head with hazel feathers and tangled golden highlights

Watching over the creosote bushes with him

Watching blooming prickly pear petals with him—

Like you, like I, innately both or neither masculine or feminine

Admiring nothing more than what exists around us.