Yesterday evening
I was walking
in the hot air
my mind still flipping through
images of cottages
in Long Beach
and Palmdale
dreams of living on one of the metro lines
never having to drive again
on southern California freeways.
I came around the corner onto
Camino Real
and in the dusk
the buildings fell away
and I was taken
by the forest of palm trees
arranged against the yellowed side
of my favorite southern hill
and I knew I didn’t want to leave.
The light almost gone
I rounded the bend
where the cicadas song is deafening
shutting out all other sound
or thoughts
and I knew it was true
I didn’t want
this striking place
not to be my home.
No Holds Barred 