Tuesday, June 23, 2015

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

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