A screaming pierces the serenity of the river valley.
Overturned wreck of a car and splattered, shattered, scattered glass.
A fresh-cut gouge in the dirt embankment where he clipped it
and in retaliation it flipped him on his roof.
He staggers from the chaos
moaning not from pain, but from the Jaeger, Keystone, and regret
of totaling his mother's car.
He flees the scene with his homies, his fellow drunken cronies
and the witnesses are left behind, scratching heads and raising brows.
I among them contemplate the carnage
and I try remembering a different time, ten years ago or so...
This place used to be so beautiful
before the partiers and potheads and Varrio Locos took it over.
Shallow waters filled with algae drifts and interspersed with boulder bridges.
Sandy beaches, nature trails, wild grapes, and fishing holes.
The last free-flowing, undammed, undamned river in the state...
Now it's bloated with beer and blood and bad decisions.
Not a bare rock face remains, each one caked up in graffiti makeup.
And the air, once frequented by the heady scent of sycamore
is far too thick with marijuana anymore.
Santa Margarita, choking on smoke and dope and disrespect,
once my heart and home and refuge, now and forever a cheapened wasteland.
I hate how we humans must adulterate whatever beauty we can find, just so we can prove in some way that we do indeed exist. We may claim dominance over nature, but need we express it? And as a disclaimer, drunk car crash dude was fine and no one (thankfully) was dumb enough to be in his car.