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

[Kenneth The Poet]

My novel is a trek through the city I was born in, lived near and went to college in. This reads like a chapter for it in a way. At the same, I see the voice of Coyote here. There is an oral storytelling style to this but the formatting makes this a poem more than a story (if you know what I mean). This is a unique piece and you write from your heart on this, and you make L.A. knowable in the way Jim Morrison does. This feels like something from his repertoire. Stunning work, Judas. Stunning, stunning.

[EMF]

I feel like I've had a whirlwind tour of your streets. A wonderful poem, dripping with atmosphere and quality You play with words like dice, and place them carefully and with grace. I love this work man. A brilliant piece.

[Blue Moon Ice Cream]

I've never been to Ventura Boulevard, but I could imagine it as I read this. It feels like a personal adventure, one that you're experiencing while no one else around you has a clue, if that makes sense. Makes me want to go live on the coast (either one!) and find my own adventure too.

[LinBin]

Happiness comes from knowing who you are and overcoming so much....this is a beautiful account of who you are and what great things you are capable of, great write x

[J. J. Nightingale]

Explore ... have an adventure ... Interesting .. Beware and take care ... hummm

Jazz ...

[Penlady]

Sharp and touching and beautiful. So many roads we travel, creating the memories that arrive along with us. Some call it our baggage, you've explained it as our life. Wonderful, colorful visions among the black and white of your words. I feel as though I've shared an intimate experience. Thank you.

[Poetic Beauty]

This makes me thing of someone who has risen from the ashes like a Phoenix to be reborn. The person isn't quite where they want to be but definitely isn't where they once were. It is funny how we change in our lives and we can visit the same place and see it differently that before. We notice different thing because we are in a different mind frame. Oh the old memories still linger in there but new adventures a just around the corner to explore. This is a great thought provoking piece about life and changes. The details are stunning and it made me feel as if I was walking down those streets experiencing what the narrator of this piece is experiencing.

[Waqas Rabbani]

It was an amazing read , abstract, stark, and visceral , i enjoyed myself. i am more prone to works with more lyrical stability yet i enjoyed myself nonetheless
___________________________________________________________

An Open Book on a Slab of Stone
The Wind that Walks between the Leaves
As the Sands of time they Slowly Fall
I Know me Much and Not at all

[rwar ish me]

very well written
give good imagry.
Very nice
~Amai

[Robbie~xoxo~]

Very intriguing. I was captivated by every line. The sense of being grateful was powerful to me. Great write!