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

The Walk Light at Rives Avenue

The Walk Light at Rives Avenue

 seems to take forever to come on.

Cars come down Florence quick and constant,

flowing as an un-swimmable mass

of blurry colors and blinding chrome.

A man on a rusty bicycle stops

and sets his feet on the concrete walk;

plastic bags full of empty cans

sway back and forth on the handle bars.

On the far side a woman in running shoes

leans against the stop light pole,

presses the metal button once,

and pushes back in a long slow stretch.

We have come to a stop at anywhere,

like townspeople frozen on a page

of a yellowed hardbound picture book,

on a city street between world wars,

waiting for the drawbridge to set down,

sharing in casual nod and glance,

this momentary intersection

of unconnected lives,

or travelers bound together,

by a pause on an ancient river bank,

the ferry still at the opposite shore,

the river moving fast in deep mid stream.

"Circling Venice" at Third Thursday Poetry

I am honored and excited to be the featured reader at this month's Third Thursday Poetry in Downey.

Click here for the Downey Patriot article: http://www.thedowneypatriot.com/article.do?id=17716617

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.