Sande Sainte-Marie 2018

Illumination

Clear blue above

a kind of flat periwinkle

illuminating old and new builds

like my life

its architecture in the open

dirty street blocks remind me of life passages I hated and feared and left behind

I am not one for ugliness

the city of angels offers all the highs and lows of being

a recipe of soaring starlight, peppered with dumpster content

if ever I thought I deserved to endure coarseness, this has answered my query

Human garbage

A lifetime to realize

some beings feel better uncaring for their front porch

a city block

their inner hands taking something from junking sidewalks with take-out trash

dirty panties, a stolen sack of CDs cast aside lay ashamed in a gutter

dog piles mark lawns in front of signs, Please Be a Good Neighbor

I watch on a busy Wilshire intersection

a light turns green, a woman stops traffic

leaves her mini-van to dump a bag on the walkway in front of me

I stare at her

her mother of a passenger stares stoney and still ahead giving no sign of conscience

just compliance

training

at night, under covers and closing their eyes

what do they tell themselves about their day?