South On Ventura BLVD

I came to LA in 2000. I had been trying to make it out to the Valley for years. I finally made it. YAY.....I escaped The Harbor jail.

South on Ventura BLVD

 

My late night strolls on Ventura  

different from my Pacific avenue treks.

More investigation then self-purification.

 

Since I have been to the valley, long gone are the stenches.

Long gone is the deifying silence.

Long gone is the hopelessness draped in dark three am curtains.

My human hamster cage called the harbor city is as a misty memory.

I guess I remember it as one would remember a private flogging.

It seemed horrible before it happen.

 

Painful was the act.

Afterward a faded thought yet visceral enough never wanted to be repeated.

Yoga parlors, Ethnic food places and frozen yogurt parlors have replaced

 The bars, ninety-nine cent stores and bodegas serving the best B rated Mexican cuisine.

 

My eyes have seen enough.

Pupil still stained with overcast harbor nights.

The gum ravaged sidewalks.

The fragrance of vagabond urine greets me at every alley juncture.

The characters replaced by empty charming streets.

Every once in a while I am greeted by a slowed patrol car.

I glance into the stores I cannot afford.

Peek into the bistros with meals I will not sample.

That place seems to good for the likes of me.

 

Yet I am happy.

Here I am.

I have arrived.

Still breathing.

Still alive.

The demons are at the end of the 110.

One day I will eat in that over priced Greek café

The one down the street

 

Author's Note

I really like the comment and the the conversation via comments. I think that what writing should do, create conversation. I like to hear the comment but I really like to find out where fellow writers head are-

Reviews

[EMMIE]

I AGREE. THIS READ IS MORE OF A STORY...BUT THEN AGAIN A POEM IS A STORY. LOVE IT. THE IMAGERY IS AWESOME!

[NZane]

I really liked the details in this poem. I actually imagined all the things as I read it. Great job :)

[Rene Velez]

this reads more like a story then poem...for me anyway, a reflection of things that once were but are now replaced with real estate values and properties rising, I have witnessed the same in my hood, a good write no doubt...

[freelancejouster]

the grittiness of this whole thing gives it, and you're right here, a homey feel that i just really enjoy. the ending was satisfactory.

[Ghostshell]

It's funny how, when you make it, you get what you want, like, it's not a huge, final destination kind of goal but it's a home: you're only happy about it for so long before you start wanting more. You're happy to have what you need and get away from where you were but you start to look up from your happy little stupor and notice you still don't quite fit. I dunno, that's what it reminded me of. I finally got somewhere I needed to be and after a year, it doesn't feel wrong and I'm grateful to be out of the pit I was in, but it doesn't feel quite right either.

[Michael of Gilead]

Why am I hearing "Moving on up"

I like the way you contrast where you came from to where you are now.

[TWISTED NIGHTMARE]

amazing piece...it brought up so many feeling and images...

[Ruth]

For me, this brings to life such dreams and places :) Nothing quite like a poem that makes it real! A liberating feeling that is wonderfully detailed love xoxo

[P.H. Carver]

I enjoyed reading this. It took me, somewhere else.

[InkSlinger]

a trip down to oneself.. is almost always the start of the healing process. For me, this piece had a feeling of a self journey, looking, touching, feeling for something just out of reach.