Noon on the Rio Hondo

out on the wide spread of the West

the line between the earth and sky

seems so thin      and we so unprotected

here in the Rio Hondo wash

the sun teases out bits of mirage

from the hot bottom of the concrete channel

while under the Montebello bluffs

a wooden roof and benches form

a place to hide from endless sky

where a clump of men sit in the shade

some homeless      some have just come down

to pass the empty middle of the day

what to say about these men

who have no work to call them back

from the quick breath of a forty minute lunch

flap meat and onions sizzle

on a little grill

lunch preparations     but other than that

they meditate beneath their tree

on an airplane headed to LAX

and the march of sun down to the coast

while on a distant overpass

trucks and cars slow    then stop   then start again

radios play and air conditioners hum

and on this warm day when a beer will feel good

their friend approaches on a bike     a cool case of Modelo

balanced on his handlebars

© Frank Kearns 2015