Straining to see in this afternoon haze
I was thinking of earlier, clearer days
When precious time and a person's life
Were not this needlessly wasted
Or so it seemed
This life has no sense of belonging
Constantly surrounded,
Being incessantly grounded by the rewards so few have personally tasted
Under the lane-expanded 101
The darkness hides its ability to survive
While the mentally disabled fade away, it gradually thrives
Middle-class values grateful to still be alive
Or so it seemed

Sundays are for rejoicing at the humanity that we manage to save
Forgiveness...
For the ignorant who forgot how they actually behaved
This is how to live in Angel City
Being never obliged to give back
Whether it's from guilt or pity
The money I've seen go nowhere
Rags-to-Riches stories of the Zillionaires
Protests to bring equity to our doors
Merely more handouts to the threadbare poor
Indebtedness...
I almost missed my exit on the way home
Closing the garage over the Acura
All alone my reflection died
Without any sense of regret

[May 26, 1997 & August 02, 1998]