white paint on walls
pink and orange houses
thirty eight miles of tightly packed
boxes and palms and fish

somewhere on the side of
one of these freeways
is a mural of a marathon
somewhere waiting tables
is an actress with a dayjob
somewhere on the edge of town
is dead land
with no houses or people

palms aren't a natural occurence here

somewhere on a hill
is a palace in the trees
with a gate and a guard
and security cameras
and windows that reach floor to ceiling
and a mexican maid

down by the border
San Diego
there's a soldier with a truck
and a gun and a dog
and a retirement home
and the unnatural palms

were not little ants
but if one were at a high altitude looking down
it might apear that way

at 12
the top tier
of your bookshelf
was too tall
I busied myself
with soldiers and cars

at 15
I finally reached
those volumes
angelou.cummings.frost
though the subject
was to abstract
for me to comprehend

at 18
grasping at understanding
I tried to write my own
reflecting the ideas
in the text
but not of my own life

now 23
a trip to city lights
a visit with ginsberg
corso.burroughs.kerouac
stoked a new fire

but when I turn
to the writings at hand
I am no less mystified
in the process of their
creation

in the stillness
of night
only blackness
and quiet
you roll into me
and we are two spoons
in a drawer
the great black sea
lulls us to dream
and the crickets play
their violin song
off goes the fridge
and this little town sleeps

how silly of me
to have forgotten
fish in the oven!

mornings only sound
the cafe owner
arranging tables and chairs


pieces of mango
frozen pineapple in a bowl
colors of sweet summer

don't spend your money
like there's no tomorrow
cause i've been around a while
and there've been lots of tomorrows

ain't no bombs dropping
like corso said
ain't no red dawn invasion
people coming down in parachutes
but if any that shit happens
i can say at least
i didn't get hit by a car
or shot or
eaten by a bear

stayed inspired most of the time
tried to be friendly
and look at the bright side

going camping in a few weeks
that's harmless enough
right?