The Painted Desert

(Jerome Augustyniak/Natalie Merchant)

The Painted Desert can wait till summer.

We've played this game of just imagine long enough.

Wait till summer?

When I'm sure the rains have ended, the blooms have gone,

Everyone killed by the morning frost.

Is a cactus blooming there in every roadside stand

Where the big deal is cowboy gear won in Japan?

The Painted Desert can wait till summer.

We've played this game of just imagine long enough.

Wait till summer?

When I'm sure the rains have ended and the blooms have gone,

Everyone killed by the morning frost.

Is a cactus blooming there upon the Northern rim

Or in the ruins of the Hopi mesa dens?

You met a new friend in the Canyon, or so you wrote.

On a blanket in the cooling sand you and your friend agreed that

The stars were so many there they seemed to overlap.

The Painted Desert can wait till summer.

We've played this game of just imagine long enough.

Wait till summer?

When I am sure the rain has ended, the blooms have gone,

Everyone killed by the morning frost.

Was a cactus blooming there as you watched the Native boy?

In Flagstaff trailer court, you wrote the line:

"He kicked a tumbleweed and his mother called him home where the Arizona moon met the Arizona sun."

I wanted to be there by May at the latest time.

Isn't that the plan we had or have you changed your mind?

I haven't read a word from you since Phoenix or Tucson.

April is over will you tell me how long before I can be there?