April poem no. 25

I put together a chap book of short poems in 2002. I'll post a few of those old poems today.

Birthday Thoughts

I’ll be 62 next week. How did I get to be this old?
Just yesterday I was 40, the day before only 25
Yet, I know I’ve lived all those years, one second
One minute, one hour at a time. No, I don’t yearn
To have any of those years back. I only want
To live however many I have left
In the now. I don’t want to miss out anymore
I want to see all the pink blossoms
Silhouetted against the sky’s blue canvas
As they sway in the breeze
And the smile of the baby in the wide brim hat
As I pass by.

Girl in the Food Court

Just as I was going to wrap it up
In slinks this tall blonde on ankle strap stilettos
With a baby’s smile. And I have to sit up
And take notice. She’s poured into a mid-calf jean skirt
With slits to her thighs and a nail-head studded leather belt
Slung on her hips. Her black long sleeve fish net shirt
Reveals her shoulders, a lot of midriff
And a not so sexy white bra underneath.

Guard Truck

So, last night we were sitting around the dining table
Having berries and ice cream for dessert
And one last glass of wine
Bemoaning the fact that my nephew, Brendan’s steel gray
1980 K5 Blazer with the four-inch lift was permanently parked
At the end of the driveway
And every time my sister and brother-in-law
Have to get into or out of the garage
They must maneuver around the big ungainly beast.
In fact, a while back my brother-in-law totally forgot
It was there and crashed his Z3 Beemer right into it.
Bad for the Beemer, the Blazer wasn’t phased.
But, you know, it does have one redeeming feature
It looks so forbidding out there – it even has gun racks –
That anyone casing the neighborhood might pass this house by
With a guard truck at the gate who would want to start trouble there?

Picture Perfect Day

This is the kind of day that travel agents photograph
To lure their clients to LA
The wind – cold and blustery
Has blown away all traces
Of the smog/fog that hovers over the landscape.
And, what it has left behind is a clearness
Only seen on posters.
This day Catalina is out in plain sight,
The Palos Verdes Peninsula looks steps away
And the gardens here at the Getty
Are like chiseled Technicolor sculptures.
This is a day to be outside if it weren’t for the chill.
So, I sit in warmth at this table for six,
Writing about the highlight of my day,
Satisfied after a meal of squash soup and lobster nicoise.
I don’t have to write it. It just is.

* * * *

I'll stop here. I'm experiencing another picture perfect day today at La Quinta. I'm out by the pool, I have good wifi reception,
I can watch all the beautiful (and not so beautiful) people out in bathing suits by the pool, and feel just a hint of coolness in the air.

All is good.