lingering in the lyric of los angeles

l.a.

4:30 a.m.

south figueroa

cigarette, coffee

across the street

USC

 

i didn’t spend the night on the streets

spent it between the sheets

with a beautiful, buxom redhead

at the raddison

she wants to go to the natural history museum

 

coming here

in a passenger seat

a row of overpasses

had sidewalks

that has become tent cities

so many homeless

i wondered how many are veterans

 

upon arriving

the coliseum was flooding the streets

with fans

almost all of them drunk

 

after check in and sex

we did what i do best

and walked around

 

the places that had been tailgated

were littered with trash

 

we found a place to have a slice

another for ice cream

but in l.a. you know it’s getting late

when the sidewalks start to fill

with homeless asking for money

 

she wanted to give some to all

i said nothing about bandages

applied to fatal wounds

why stop a beautiful woman

from doing a beautiful thing

 

back at the room

she was once again responsive

to my touch

 

then from the things she picked up

at a marijuana dispensary

she found finding sleep easy

 

i did my best to rest

but sustained sleep isn’t me

 

finally with complimentary coffee

and cigarettes

i watched the early hour object

to the vehicles trying to beat rush hour

 

now i’m in the lobby

it will be awhile before she wakes

 

i remember once i stayed

at an expensive place

in san francisco  

where all the ceo’s go

while business traveling

 

i was doing the same thing

writing in the lobby

when security walked up on me

needing to see my room key

it was obvious i was

out of my element

 

now i always keep the key visible

 

in high school i wanted to be cool

but wanting to talk about

rod mckuen’s poetry

or the grapes of wrath

didn’t get me invited

to too many parties

and the girls that caught me gazing

just looked away

 

not much has changed

and the women with whom i’m bolder

well maybe as they get older

they lower their standards

 

but last night i didn’t lower mine

this woman can kiss

and her caressing gentleness

melted me into a puddle of passion

 

if you say bloody mary three times

a bartender will appear

 

now i’m out walking

passed a bunch of bikes

chained to a bike rake

that has been stripped

of everything but the frames

 

l.a.’s not a game

at any time you can

become a victim

 

avoided getting sprayed

by a man power washing

the sidewalk

in l.a. everyone battles decay

 

except me

just bought a pint of whiskey

breakfast

don’t do the whole wheat toast

dry

egg whites

and a grapefruit

 

you’ll never see the author of

the dark streets of decay

on the l.a. talk show circuit

 

but i do sell a lot of books

in europe

though i’ve never been

i’ll never be an ex-patriot

 

i love l.a.

 

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