3/13/92- Corners I Should Slow For

                 
                                                                3/13/92
                                                                   L.A.

               Corners I Should Slow For


    It has happened more than once;
    That places well known to me,seen in passing
    Appear to be the same first sentence
    In a rapid,complex conversation that all cities are
    The angle of a curve says the same words here    
    As it does outside Boston or Minneapolis;
    A greeting of welcome, well worn and traveled
    Said out of habit,yet with an air of care.

    Instead of the direct statement of an artery
    I find the circuitous question of a surface street
    The back way into town,the skyline postcards never see
    No traffic to interrupt thoughts,green haze rejects punctuation
    This late hour finds no resistance to wheels,advances
    Spraycan Miros deny strangers street sign topics
    Directing this monologue is a cakewalk...

    Entering the neighborhood,my dimly lit hallway
    As if I was expected back hours ago    
    Coming home in the dark,answers not needed
    For a sleeping lover who sees you home,
                               smiles,
                                   and rolls over.

    Tonight as Los Feliz reminds me of the past,    
    Driving Storrow Drive too fast,always too fast
    Of a conversation of two people that love never will abandon
    Of fear and happiness,fear of happiness...

    A relationship with a city of twelve million seems more likely
         sometimes
    When dormant streets border the sleeping horde
    Such ease when friction withdraws its grasp
    Like the relief when prepared answers go unused
    And tears unseen dry in the night.