Friday, January 18, 2013

Catching Fire in Downey

There is so much going on now in the Downey arts scene that it is nearly impossible to make it to all the events! Who could have ever imagined such a problem?

Here is a link to the Downey Arts Coalition Website, which gives you a feel for what is going on:

http://www.downeyarts.org/

I read this poem at the Third Thursday Poetry Series, hosted last night at the Stay Gallery on Downey Avenue. It discusses two topics, stellar evolution and the Downey arts scene, which you might think have little to do with each other.


Catching Fire in Downey

our solar system did not evolve
               in a smooth continuum

clouds of hydrogen float forever
well almost, until
waves push together little globs
which now attract

               more
                              and more

more and more ethereal gas
flows to the concentration
gravitation builds pressure

until bam!

hydrogen burning
nuclear fusion
out from the center in a

           glowing ring

leaving behind heavier things

helium      carbon

until it’s all spent

                   blown out

and light and heavy elements alike
float through the clouds of

                         space and time

mixing              flowing

                 mixing

until new perturbations
         form new globulations
                 and the whole formation
                            starts again



a lot of mixing going on
                      globular accretions
and traces of critical mass
                  in the downey region

trace remnants of the ranchos californios
         pio pico
                      anglo agriculturos

dying embers of
               aerospace prosperity

vultee apollo and space shuttle
               white haired
                          running out of time

the wind and tide of struggling mexico
        guatemala
                 and points south

washing
                            washing              

ashes from cuba

mixing
                          mixing

lighting fire at the tropicana

nuclear fusion
          at downey and warren

skin tones
                  mixing to a thousand shades

getting grungy at the epic lounge
               and tipsy at downey brewery
singing in the churches
               making music in garages

cool at l.a.buns and
               buzzing at stay gallery

looking to the future
                catching fire everywhere
                  

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