Here's water from the rock

Here's water from the rock,

Flowing but sluggish.
Rusty-red,
This has been salted
By a malevolent time.
It reaches out for the parched earth,
Surrounded by sparse clumps
Of grey-green leaves.
The trickle struggles against the heat
Through a landscape where nothing
Eases the burnt-out eye.
The water's persistent though.
It pushes across miserable dust
Until it dies!
Leaving only
A rank, malignant-smelling, stain