5/31/2003

P and Body on the Freeway

II

(Fuzzy), which way to turn? P doesn't know and looks the other way East down Hill on Fourth. To the freeway, to the 110 North, stepping slowly, singing, "Make me a ham Burger, and place it on the steps... leading to your door," take a turn, and turn a Corner, come on around: P balances on the sidewalk, awake. Lights, red, blue, white

Over, "Come on around; corner," and lights flash: "Reasoning for reason cast as (Duchamp Moves, knight to queen bishop knight), and lights flash again, does the ground shake?" P stops and asks Himself, "If death is here then it must be there and with my no-sense of death sense then This sensory feeling must decline," one parking meter waves a sign "OUT OF O,"

The paper is ripped after the "O." Out of O or out of out, P walks, contin Uing up Fourth and down to the offramp, which swings a slice of orange peel from free Way to connector road, "Out of order," P sits on the bank against a priv Et and stares, fire flares surround a yellow draped mound, "L is no longer refer

Ring," creation and creating, P gets up and slides down the hill. Stops at the curb and Stares; sits down, stands up, "what did you do?" One marked car with lights and one unmarked Car without lights: cars slowly pass into the orange peel and P's pupils close.

5/30/2003

P and Body on the Freeway

I

P looks at a piece of dried pizza in a paper towel, sitting on the Curb, legs out in the street. The crust is white, still powdery with flour from the bread ta Ble. The bottom is black, from the oven temperature. The tomato sauce is Ink, red ink and the pepperoni says, "You need some exercise:"

"You need an exercise plan," a way to move to the ...the flavor of the crust is Woody, an oak wood taste. Up on his feet P sees a bright light up Fourth Street, illuminating the entire skyline behind the water court, "ok, singles Night has come," carrying the pizza and eating while walking, sliding feet

In heel-less shoes: standing and leaning against a wall, then walking another four feet Another two feet, shuffling up the hill (the escalator is off and blocked from Entry). Two eyes float down the stairs. floating above a shirt pocket. Stuck at the park Ing meter at Hill and 4th; a meter, "Hey! I'm an x-ray spectrometer."

P stops and listens again, "You know your bones are crinkly?" What finger is this? P Steps over a board with nails: unnoticed by the eyes, or at most, unknowing Ly seen, "Do you see the fly next to your ears?" (the meter bends several Inches toward the street) P continues to walk up 4th, seeing only one truck go

By... dark, what is a stone thrown from a passing car's speed? P thinks nine, but he's not sure If it's in miles or seconds per inch or... voice from down the street asks, "Is it Impression or effect, or is it reason cast into unreason or the Affliction of reasoning against reasoning?" ...That drives the truck down to Broadway.

5/29/2003

P and the Dead Fruit Fly

II

...Feelings to surface and be heard? A grander scale forming under An ostinato of one note. The one that threatens to overwhelm: open speech, And no fear (the fear of no fear causes rust to form and metal To give way) gives way, a network of incised lines and teeth Marks. P sighs and looks to his right - dinner is finished - no breakfast tomorrow,

No breakfast the next day. Walking over the concrete, broken and lifted by Maturing ficus trees - down to third. E relaxes in the shade - no tan just Resting and smoking a cigarette; "The comet is pink against the lower handle." Treeman awakes and stares: no realizations, just urgency. The feeling of itching Feet and ants, flies, cockroach (thumbnail size as opposed to the real Ones). T decides it's easier to walk than endure the itching - the smell of Coffee: P stops at the law library, his shadow on the sidewalk falls off the

Curb bending and changing as each car passes. Sitting on the curb At Temple and Broadway, no memory, no thought. A rock stares up At the P face, "Your beard has grown this year." P says, "It doesn't grow, My face is shrinking." The rock says, "Well, you have to think about the Opposite at some time," the rock looks like a rotting ficus nut. The library opens as a smell of death rolls onto the sidewalk Around P's legs - "You have five minutes to leave, sir."

5/28/2003

P and the Dead Fruit Fly

I

The fruit fly is dead. The alcohol reverie rips away the internal or Gans. Burning the motor up, extending the saw blade farther than is required To completely cut the vines away from winding around legs and arms of fu Ture trees: internal and against the lower duodenum: cabbage, purple and red

Spring lettuce sucked into the atmosphere and held unconscious. Some of the sha Dows are half; making a pine tree come up and out of, ahead, finished in split Beams. It is the transition from air compressor noise to nail gun punctures. One puncture beaten in by a nail from an air compressor - blowing, "some Say, 'do you remember when to get up?' that's what." Harsher

Contrast - built in by a limit of twenty two to twenty to twenty one Drops in procedure. 21, 20, 22 concurrent variations in syllables counted By taking the body into the refrigerator and slicing the webbing between The fingers: it's cold and therefore less blood and pain. But, this is not How the earliest ancestors guessed - artificial forms overlaid by Devotion and perspective detail, "Forget the pain, smoke screen it," The question is asked, "How are you feeling," and the answer is, "No, no More coffee for me." Take direct observation on blank paper: arranging each Object in line with five points. The sun comes into the room from the left

And leaves through the door. "I'll be back," not a forgotten person, not a battle With armor or flags and songs: "I'll be back in springtime, I'll be back at Noon, I'll be back." Flowers are blowing out in the yard by the Door. Treeman wakes up - off the top of the bus stop and back down the Tree onto the sidewalk - will it be: getting entangled or getting the implausible...

5/27/2003

P Walks The West Side Of LA Ave.

P walks the West side of LA Ave. Next to ivy and "The buses and methane smells like Elmer's glue." Three parrots Fly over, talking about the sun going down and how

The gas gets trapped between buildings And never escapes and those that walk there are re Constituted into a New "breathing" world, "¿que?" you mean four times today the buses

Stopped and five times they didn't, this Isn't freedom in constituting, this is being And, "but, don't walk there," don't Walk there; make it a decision and walk over there, walk

Over away from the gas, into The building and, "Now an asbestos shower, now a Rain of sixty cycle light," Fluorescent creations, one word means a response will not

Be a response. A statement, a word A constitution by numbers. Choice becomes, and is A memory; one locked in Either cell or membrane and large liver spots from the el

Bow to the hand: internal and per Sonal, dumping into a distressed thought, thinking Of viewing the stucco as A mirror and creating images of the patterns re

Flected by the parking lot lights shin Ing against the glass of the building across the street, "No big words, put together, One after another," P sips a cup of coffee, once.

No big words, put together one af Ter the other: walking on the East side of LA Ave., P creates the West side And creates the East side, but the North side is still cover

Ed in a methane cloud, "Discuss the Causes that are usually emphasized, the Responsibility be Longs down the street in a tube under a shirt; a choice.

5/26/2003

F & 1st Street

II

A head comes up out of the trash can be Tween 1st & 2nd on Los Angeles street. The food is portioned in three areas of The Styrofoam container: kappa maki roll, a Covered bowl of miso soup, French fries, wa

Sabi, and a plastic fork - "on, deadpan Comedy," ...kicking again and once more, as If the wall had been pulled from the motorized Plug, moving from the... comedy, dragging pearls Along the floor: singing, 'going where the

Wind don't blow," tap dance that metaphor, tap It true. F feels dizzy. Shuffling on The sidewalk. Indignant and the Corporal Says, "off that experience!" I throw you in the air and take pictures - Oh oh oh - like sex.

Confused, annata the doctrine: smoke Screens the wall again, only hazy gray. Tap The foot, bounce the ball, swing the legs, raise the arms, push Out the pelvis, tap the foot, bounce the ball, raise the Arms, swing the leg: metaphor dance tapping.

5/25/2003

F & 1st Street

I

A head comes up out of the trash can, and, He looks right down L.A. Street (three leaf blowers). The Styrofoam carton has bread and Pasta, a piece of chicken, red And underdone, done like blood.

F saw it; a subduction zone: one more Thing, prone to breaking & falling - skin shrinks it Self. The new moon at 5am, up over 2nd Street . Over, no exception And, "Oh that igneous for

Mation," pressure on Venus to extend The moon's point: F comes up out of the trash Can. A camera is fixed on his face, On his face. FLASH! Chicken, blood red, A zone moving into one

Two or three fragments/splinters that raise The rash around F's eyelids; a slap against The face and over the tumble weed. "Would you look at me," F asks, "No One remembers the three days."

5/24/2003

Vignes Street Prayer

III

...And reappears across the street The water came up over the curbs Yesterday, the water, too much For, "Poor Ophelia." Do you call this resonance? Hands on the grocery cart Pushing, one leg back One leg forward, "Drown'd" Ah, chanting Marvin Gaye 'Mercy Mercy Me'

Wide range of R values Just a capital R. Power rating. 1/10 of a watt - this Current (voltage) maximum Power wasted and burned It's one watt or less. Bands of colored R values High is less, ohms. Insulation, bricks against A corner; broken pieces lay Around. Several thousand Ohms. The building appears Now, one address up, 25 to 26. Vignes connects to Temple, Or "If you want" to First St. Electricity, bend the distressed Elements placed on windowsills, Doorways - doorways that That hide clothes and shoes and Household items. Manganin to Chromium to iron. The street Shines with cobalt Blue. And disappears...

5/23/2003

Vignes Street Prayer

II

No collar shirt, long Sleeves two pockets Hang out and drape Down. An incessant Search for the end of The street. Standing Surrounded by plastic Bags, eyes focused on Nothing, muttering, "Conscience And cowards, us all, us all Cowards, cowards Consciousness, us all." Is this extension? Is it force? Faculty, influence? It's the incompetence, a Single moment lost. A Mouth comes out of the Sky, "Resolution and Death, where acting stops And the scene is landscape Imagery of stock Photos."

The building across the Street shimmers and Disappears.

5/22/2003

Vignes Street Prayer

I

Creators, puppet plays within A story. And a long prose Poem about counting Using the left hand fingers.

The coffee service is offered Up, "What fingers am I holding Up?" Ah, the City's best, The ones counting on Vignes. The audience as entertainment. The one's asleep, many Ghosts among them, they that (Are) is, that watch the shadows rise. "Is it still prose?"

A step onto a wooden platform Before sixteen or so empty Seats.

5/21/2003

Commercial St.

III

"Oh, radiant east, early Morning, dumb, exposed," D stands on one foot, Stance ascetic both Shoes off. A car Drives by. It's shadow Passes across her Raised leg. The Car stops and backs up. The window rolls down. A large yellow llama Looks at D, big brown Eyes, "From where I'm Sitting you appear To be holding the bridge," Blinks, soundless. D, An open mouth and head Bent forward: The Chain link fence comes off The supporting poles, two step Three step to a samba One, uh eh, uh Uh eh, uh...

The car folds back out Into an altar with Grilling hamburgers, fried Grease molecules floating. Drift down to surround the llama And D, "All shiny and bright in The oily air," Sun disperses it, A tea in scalding water, brown. D's foot drops. Taps? And she pulls the blanket over her head (closer).

5/20/2003

Commercial St.

II

Near the 4th Street bridge, Night. No cars. Crawling Along the sidewalk, weeds Have grown in the curb's Cracks. Dinner, try one Leaf. "Those toxic things We love," D sings quietly.

The tents are gone, the Suitcases moved behind A chain link fence. Canvas hides the lot, "A group stands together And waves at a group that Collects trash." Cameras were Here Saturday, ABC/or some white van with a...

Image one: blue tents Image two: green garbage bags Image three: piles of wood (broken pallets) Image four: police cars Image five: police staff Image six: occupants of artist's condos

Build up this picture with Painted stucco over. The White wash has dripped. Shoe prints around a base, Street lamp. Not reflection, not observation.

D broke her middle fingers Falling and rolling down The concrete slope to The river.

The target moves away, singing, "I will get to the kitchen table Someday," but the rotten Tooth aches. Suck at the Infection, eat some more Leaves, lie down and Sleep.

5/19/2003

Commercial St.

I

Mechanical reproduction. That Article about motivation And repeating patterns, in The trash. D spits and Watches the traffic on The 101. Sitting on a Stack of suitcases, five.

Gravel on the ground Makes a beautiful sound. As sliding feet go Walking. This field With a large hole Is usually a place to Sleep. Now it's full. Water and Styrofoam, paper. Across 1st Street Artist's condos, D Hums, "uum, uhm, ah, um?"

A new pattern, at least Today and in this a lot Reaching up to 50, but Not quite...

Around D, she has surrounded Herself with sections of The LA Times, California section. Are you aware? Of the 9 digit zip code, of The inconsistencies, dramatic Or other: Two people walk on the side walk toward D and pass, "Please, a quarter, please For a cup of coffee, please, 'Assholes'."

5/18/2003

Third and Main Restaurant Watching

2303

Cutting through red meat one knife Handle at a time, spending Restless moments thinking In twisted lines; 'ah that the Sentence might reveal a fine Chord that rings with reverb Or the tremolo off/on.' Understanding that one letter reveals Less than one syllable reveals. Doubting the fine words spaced Without fine lines, knowing that the going east Reveals dawn and fine awkwardness, In minute's detail. Refined in a recovery of Tension, that spells out tenderloin roasting Ever so slowly in a pan of garlic When chopped and dropped into burning oil. It is not this fine that defines The finished steak, but the burning Heat that touches, building to a cadence... On II - V - I progression, "someone's looking at the cheese, Under the table to see, Two times three pardon me," (sing it). Gone days, gone revelations Inserted into fanatical mouths. Mimicking the restrains of Hammerstein. Missing the notes and losing the beat, In such a way that leaves us wanting, waiting, singing... "Cause it's vegetarians running amok, Kicking the ass off Texan's with butts," Size it up, tear it down, move on.

5/17/2003

F at 2nd Street

III

F is lying on the sidewalk read Ing. LA Times? Blue Blanket, old Fleece - new shirt - red T shirt & hat: a ba By carriage standing over, and. One finger Up steadying the water bottle.

Evening, "perfect reading light," green Light, yellow, red light. Red light. F, thinks, "I should take a picture!" Looking around, red light. Flashing hand... walking, walk Ing to the corner, "H.H. Arnason,

Oh." An ant, screaming, climbing up F's arm. "Take paper, take a camera, Throw the paper in the air, click the shutter." The ant falls to the sidewalk, crawling to a crack. Yellow light, red light, green light, yellow

Light: no one remembers the ant, who Is in the crack, crawling up Los Angeles Street, away from Second street. F is walking to 'Savon' to buy a camer A. Floating paper, red light, green light.

5/16/2003

F at 2nd Street

II

Three guys with leaf blowers and another With a broom; slowly moving up Los Angeles St. Cleaning up dirt & Leaves in front of the hotel; no dust at five A.M. F stands across the street watching. A

Mockingbird has been singing all night. F never slept. Blowers are Masking the singing. F sits down next to a Ficus tree; asphalt has been laid into the con Crete where it has lifted and split: once

He looks up. The building swallows F. He's driving a car through the park Ing lot - looking for a space; realizing he Has missed an appointment. He stops the car, Double parking, opens the door - he

Has no clothes on. A car horn blares, F Wakes up. Low clouds and mist. The leaf Blowers are gone. It smells like bacon and Eggs. F gets up and crosses the street to the brick Wall at St. Vibiana's: a billboard stares at him.

5/15/2003

F at 2nd Street

I

F looks at his penis, then at his Foot, then his wrist and fingers, then His elbow, "concentrate" : a leaf blow Er won't start - cord is pulled, cord is, cord is pulled... Fruppa hupa, pull, fruppahupa

Pull... fruppahupahupa, hupa Hupa hupa... F has a big Nose: choking on a dry sandwich, a Belch! Walking on a familiar piece of concrete F Pulls out his tissues and begins to

Wipe his toes - looks up in disgust - right Left - wipes his toes again. Bending Over (must be a glass) and sniffing, sniffing. "Roll the R," fruppahupahupa, hupa. F Is tired and doesn't want to

"Concentrate." Some say, "drift way," some Say, "lost in a resigned world," F looks at his penis, then at his foot, Then his wrist and fingers: elbow itching, itching, a bee sting. F lifts his head, bee sting?

5/14/2003

G at 3rd Street

III

Tensile strength - piano notes echo Off the buildings: saxophone... Apollo flies above A death battle; the stamp on the concrete "McPherson 1953 Contractors" .... up a third, down and Around minor second, minor 3rd up a Fourth; sent to the far North: G slips and looks down.

A cigarette butt - "pick it up." Apollo didn't think much - action - G hears a bass Line. At the cross walk the light turns green, white Hand blinking, blinking. G pushes her shoe against Concrete & asphalt. A little give - giving - no, Movement of the poured sand & cement, one

Interval; relative minor chord. The Bminor thought rings off the stairways and up to The room where G has been sleeping, a fire is Starting to burn, piano banging on single Notes, then fourths. Tensile strength disintegrates in An electronic piano - as a Violin. Apollo lands and sings, "pick it up, pick it up, and play it."

5/13/2003

G at 3rd Street

II

G looks up at the building, lights Turned up under overhanging 30's archi Tecture: B say's "o...h..." she remembers A slight; an anger moment. R says, "I want A happiness meal," a bone that will Keep me forgetting; come on... B scratches ear.

G looks up at the building a Gain: remember - Ullyses? Listening to Joni Mitchell in one ear - Stevie Wonder in the other: into a hole they Wander, the grapefruit G bought is opened. Skin and thumbnail - triangle slices

Of juice & meat - remember the Old men discussing and telling the story of The Minotaur - the string and running Back to the entrance: the stairs lead up, away From the floor where water and algae win, Loving the slippery, rub, that rocks pro

Vide: G looks up and smiles - Coltrane, 1st street, Spins off a building.

5/12/2003

G at 3rd Street

I

G puts her foot in the gutter. Two ants are crawling across the street, one red, one Black. They cross a sprayed circle, drawn To mark where someone would be digging: red ant Says, "nope, nope... well I gotta say, yeah," the Black ant says, "when, now... if you think about

Eating a hamburger," the red Ant interrupts, "now, now, really? It's not that Bad when," the black ant says, "see that foot?" "Yeah." G puts her foot on the curb and Sneezes, blows her nose towards the street; rain Falls down on the red and black ant. Both feet on

The sidewalk - G looks up and smiles: B ant crawls along -- R ant stops and smiles: G walks Down the street to MacDonald's - "maybe Some coffee?" R asks. R says, "They're going to film a 'Survivor' episode today." "oh, The impact of the Other," B says, " i

Want some gum," and starts the climb up the curb. "Don't chew gum," R says.

5/11/2003

N learns to fly

IV

A day, the sun comes up after Dawn. N rides passenger in his truck; someone Else drives, off at Broadway. South past 1st to Se

Cond. Parking in the lot, groups of Pigeons waking up. Cof Fee. Street cleaner turns on Second. N walks to

The door at the back of two-oh- Seven; The elevator to The seventh floor, carry Ing a cup of Cof

Fee. Pushes the button for the Elevator up: waits in Minutes, the door opens Up he goes, alone -

Pin down the space with constant working. Assimilated into the... Glass: the building falls past, his Eyes rolled back, panic.

5/10/2003

N learns to fly

III

N leans against the truck's cab, one Cup of coffee; 4:30 am Thinking "work-out" At lunch: the lift low

Ers. One window water and soap. Reflects a person - "N" - two cups of coffee; 5 thir Ty am "Growing a

Stomach, Mr. N?" Turning to look At the eastern sky, dawn, Ju Piter, Saturn. Back to The soap and water,

Squeegee: 'My life is stable, is Wonderful,' a rope slips, a Heartbeat; a stomach surge, Stability.

The motor pulls the platform up to The roof. The roof and over the Overhang. The wedding Plans are now in full swing.

5/09/2003

N Learns to fly

II

Once a nail is pounded in... It is there: N walks to his Garage and looks at his Weights; his workout, his;

In the driveway are ten buckets. Each full with water, soap And bleach: "some creations Are written, others

Flow along the gutters of streets." N thinks; 'work tomorrow, to Day,' Should forget, once A nail is hammer

Ed in, an impression remains. A footprint, a head print, a Hammer head print, a cry Ing child. When the van

Is full and one child is excluded. A nail is pulled up, up Out; out. These muscles ache. Ache. Once a nail, once.

5/08/2003

N learns to fly

I

The barbeque top slams shut. Shut! N leans on the door. N drinks Beer, And leans on the door. Smoke rises up un

Der the eaves and floats into the Den: no burrow here. N thinks, "Those poor bastards downtown." No hole here: detach

Ed. The meat is done and is slapped On plates for friends to eat, one Per... blackened with pep Per - listening to

Metalicka; no curbing the fun, No discord here, no abandonment Here, there is love and friends and Steak and beer and trust and...

5/07/2003

Forty Two Degrees

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, But your son is dead." H stood In the street and stared at the Sky. One cloud. On the ground two ants climbed Up H's shoe. Ant 1 said, "Since when are you, you

Following me?" Leg hairs, around. Ant 2 Says, "We are one, why is the question?" "Don't ask," Ant 1 stomps off, Up the leg of H. (I was dreaming. And somewhere a note floated up from a

Pool: is it a mistake in under Standing?) From these yellow pads ruled legal, a diary, A confessional work is jotted Down; written for a few friends or anyone?

Some understanding was lost to H. "What did I forget to un Derstand?" Through the pages of number Forty three. It is here, "A bell that For you, must for me, too." Legal

Pad, no this is a mistake; Ant1 climbs Onto his collar. Looks Down: son dead in Pakistan, dead In Los Angeles, or dead in New York, or dead in San Francisco. It's not

A memory or a note. It's part of The air - in the air or floating Down from a flue - the smoke and Bus exhaust. Each particle writing Another line in the story: H walks.

5/06/2003

Forty One Degrees

III

Now, the sky and clouds rise. The rain stops. The light in the Background makes the foreground negative. Once pictures cease, at once these thoughts stop.

The time is 6am. On assessing the asphalt; A view, that right or wrong, can be Disputed: "our worth, a sentiment lost." on

The steps my hands ache, hurt, A fire is burning across the street In a trash receptacle, Not a can, it's open lattice, allows air

To pass; the fire is out. "Warmth is outlawed by trash Companies." Now. The walls are white and Stark. This isn't color. Now. If it's a street light?

It's a pair of head lights. A head comes out of a window and Yells, "SINCE YOU LOOK ANGRY..." disappears. Down 1st Street, the LAPD is asleep at a concrete barrier.

What's left of the living, An arrangement of nitrogenous Bases of DNA. Heredity - inherited capacity to kill and kill again.

5/05/2003

Forty One Degrees

II

This look. This way of seeing Isn't inexplicable. The steps to the front door are clean, no Leaves. This thinking on a specific point is

Removed from and Measured. Sliced finger From a knife, while cutting apples. The Cutting is red in blood and apples. It

Is a look. Your eyes from The next room - reading Ashbery. Clouds of smoke. A 3/4 moon in January. An oak leaf dropping on the

Patio - the light is Almost, almost gone: the elm Tree has lost a lot of leaves this winter. Why? My three year old mind wanders off to the

Bathroom. Do I smell incense? Yes and or no. A fire? T stood by the grass on First Street and spoke to her invisible friend, "you got here

And then thinking you saw Fire, some stinky incense smoke, You got pulled up trying to cross A power line under a plastic protector."

5/04/2003

Forty One Degrees

Clouds of smoke. Now is the Beginning, though undefined. Viewed from picture books. It is our Future. "Once this opinion is related."

It is dark. Measures of Ourselves, expect some right. Placed. A block on a board: sun up, Sun down - nothing is given up; a meaning.

Clouds of smoke. Gone and come. It is now, and the view of It, new to our eyes. Slipping past a Door without hinges. Gaining a look at the

Sky. At night the stars are Appearing. Jet noise over Head. Coffee guy said this morning, "they said On the radio that it was 9 degrees Above freezing," I said, "Forty-one?" Another guy In a gray suit looked at me. "uh?" I laughed and thought, 'Fahrenheit or centigrade!'

5/03/2003

2nd Street Corner - North

Bright mustard colored socks Spread out between two legs Attached to a body leaning Arms back into the grass.

Face with blue glasses. Head moving back and forth. Back pack on the sidewalk. A sign taped to the outside Written in small letters, "Ravi Shankar, 'Their behavior disgusts me,' sa Re ga ma pa dha ni." Clap and wave. Signal For the dancing shoe laces Rising up and lurching at Other shoes walking by, "Do you sense one's own smallness?" They're swinging and swaying To a 3,2,2 rhythmic cycle, Bend down and kiss the sidewalk:

The faces are frozen, smiling Staring at the space between Two buildings. Lips red, Eyes bright, cheeks glowing, No words. Walking along Aliso St. Back to Commercial.

5/02/2003

2nd Street Sidewalk - East

The signal changes to green. Old dust from the windowsills Above. Covered in sweat, Every facial poor (pore) plugged. The signal changes to red, "Oh, no smell of wit in this Witless state, the end Is reached in dreary fate!" Drop a penny on the ground, no Wit, no reflection. The sidewalk Slides away. The open asphalt Glides under. Sails unfurled Against the sun. Mount Wilson antennas, waves of radio Talk, "Is this, is the dust Of earth, Is this?" The dirt that is trapped in the gutter was Swept out of a truck from Phoenix. Across the intersection the light is red. Riders waiting for the bus Stare up the street and back to a paper Or back down the street.

It's an old corduroy coat. The back is torn at the Bottom. Threads hang, "Oh, is this the coat that Returns to the earth, the Cork that stops God's sweat?"

A water bottle sports top In a green trash bag Wrapped around a large Basket. Step off the Curb.

5/01/2003

2nd Street Sidewalk - West

Turn around then face west (left) New black basketball shoes, toes Forward on the curbs edge Beginning a fifty yard swim From a starting platform. Bright blue water sparkles In the sunlight. Stripes to The other end. Stripes on the Street. At 3am, walking Across the street - empty Except for the street cleaner. Yellow flashing lights driving Down the wrong way turning Around and back, "you'll get run Over by the city truck." It's dark. An old tire, a car alarm, The changing of the parking lot crew, Three fifty to 4am. The Price is set for the daily workers:

Those also standing in lines. Papers, blankets, a visa, a green card, Another chance to live and work in hell. A swim to the end of 400 yards.