I saw the beasts that prowl the dunes,
The serpents that coil in the heat,
The lizards that dart through the dust,
And I was filled with wonder.

I heard of the great sandstorm,
That can bury a man alive,
And of the wandering oasis,
That is the only refuge from the heat.

For the first time, I saw life
All around me in the sand;
The scaly, the clawed, the fanged,
All working together to survive.

And in that moment, I understood
Why they call it the land of the dead;
For in the desert, life is a battle,
And only the strong survive.