and so i have returned to Los Angeles
that abyss of human endeavor
here i sit in the L.A. terminal
looking out the gray windows
drinking rum and coke
toasting the empty parking lot outside
i no longer need or want
nearby the Angelenos race by
lost in the increasing circle
to pay for the bills and thrills
it is a zoo short of keepers
humans who must be fed
to feed the human experience
daily i prayed for the freeways to fail
for Hollywood to produce truth
rather than someone's agenda
for generations more
than "me" upon their lips
that factories would return
jobs, made in L.A.
but i pray no more
my ticket read "gone"
so let us order another round
toast to rum runners
man-made bays
highrises i no longer greet
the high iron i cannot walk again
freeways that never fail
to squalor and riches
the coke whores
the coke whoremongers
to Los Angeles
the abyss of human endeavor


         Los Angeles   89