John Coolidge Adams - Desert Chorus

Is not their desert the garden of the Lord?
Is not their desert the garden of the Lord?
Rain falls on the earth where no man is to satisfy the desolate waste ground
To raise a grass blade for the green forest
And appease the scorpion that suffers thirst
Rain falls, and not lightly, on the bituminous land
Obliterating landmarks, it vanishes between the particles of rock
And runs down ancient aquifers lined with the casts of ferns
The hunters shall go hungry tonight
One will rеst inside his shelter whilе the other waits
Eyes wide open, though the stars and moon are gone
And the sky is nothing but cloud pouring out rain
And the Earth is contracted by no human speech
As if it had turned itself away from the world
To leap like a fountain in the mind of God, God, God
Leap like a fountain in the mind of God

For a little while, perhaps a few years
The rose of Persia, yellow with a red blotch at the base
Which the people of Iran strip from their cornfields and use as fuel
Will bring its beauty there
Will bring its beauty here