carlsbad

carlsbad

a green warbler loots a spider web on the arbor

gobbling bugs and flocks of lady runners jog

along the sidewalks connecting dot to shaded dot 

kissed by mild breezes floating off the pacific

where the surfers wait for waves and the dolphins

loiter between the swells. a slow parade

of gleaming cars crawls past surf shops and cafes

the ancient dreams of citrus orchards and rancho life

this everlasting promise of paradise embodied in

the self realization center garden and the vista

reaching out to where ten thousand miles

of ocean fades into the haze and the sun sinks

into a throbbing molten blob of orange.

azalea, camellia, bougainvillea, rose.

figs and avocado. the eucalyptus, ubiquitous,

so fast and of the instant like the red-tiled miles

of roofs along the ridges where the grizzlies

roamed. the sweet life of the vanished peoples

their middens hidden beneath the patios

and paving stones, caressed by birkenstock

and nike, calloused barefoot soles treading to

the candy shops and yoga studios, any flavor

of perfection or imagination available

in flesh or fashion, spirit or mercedes convertible.

this kindliness of a gentle desert watered by dreams

and far away rivers, disease and death corralled;

as if they were optional. a warm fog that burns away

by afternoon. this life that feels like skin on skin,

like nectar on the tongue. like lips on nipples,

like a dive into a silken pool where bright fishes

dash from dream to dream before we wake

and wonder what the hour is,

what universe, what life.