a pastoral for LA

(a poem I wrote, as published in The Los Angeles Miscellany 2009)

millions of cars on endless pavement
zoom past palm trees on abbot kinney
to get to venice beach
i had my feet in california sand,
pacific ocean water
that chilly shade of blue—grey—dirt

i felt the santa ana winds on my face
and saw fire on the hills somewhere in the distance
smoke replaced the smog
so cal sunshine dulls, almost disappears
but no one takes off their sunglasses

i look down from the bluff across the vast expanse of
buildings and streets to the hollywood sign
that shines more brightly than the sun
like the bigger than life celebrities who
always seem smaller in person

walking down rodeo drive to buy prada and chanel
doesn’t beat melrose in the middle of a sunday
afternoon when shabby chic finds new levels of
timeless elegance and grunge never smelled better
we pass on the moca and the getty
so i can have my picture on sunset boulevard.