The city is all around us
I hear sirens and horns of ambulances...the police and firetrucks
While herons across the street peck their beaks into the green grass
They are not moved by the sounds.
I see palm trees reflect the sun while cars race through our non thru street,
Arbor Way.
Cool winds swirl grape leaves from my neighbor's yard. It's hot. Standing in the doorway I left my chin up. Rewarding breezes soothe me. I can't wait for the air conditioning to be fixed. That's just the one thing out of everything gone wrong.
A dozen red roses stand in a vase, a gift from the twins and my daughter, her boyfriend too, looking beautiful. There's an unknown leak we've had for years in the ceiling and underneath the sink. A Bull dozer is on the bank of our canal.
The city is here.
They're dredging all the water and stock piling rocks. The fish are dead and the turtles are gone. Even the alligator's song is lost among the grinding of machinery.
The city will stay until tomorrow. When the herons have flown and the water is high the taxes are blown and the lights are nigh.
The city is all around us.
Amidst rich foliage and a canal streaming behind my home are thunderous jets high above.... train horns in the distance and a constant hum of the freeway that only abates in the 3 am; yet birds chirp away, lizards flicker everywhere and the palm tree fronds gently sway and whisper in the wind. Maybe its nature that pervades the city all around us.