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One More LA Story

by Dan Garcia-Black

The city is awake at night.
Its breath, the sound of tires
rolling along streets and freeways.
Its sighs, the whine of
eighteen-wheelers downshifting at curves.
I lie on the couch listening to
the city tell me a bedtime story
It begins with the whump, whump, whump
of a helicopter hovering close by,
hunting human prey.
It speaks through cop car klaxons
shouting out a deadly square dance call,
“Get out of the car,
lie down on the ground,
hands behind your back.”
Then pop, pop, pop, pop, pop and silence.
I strain to hear the end of the story but
the last part of the tale is an ambulance siren,
the high-pitched wail of my city
crying for one more of its children killed
by those little gods in blue
who proclaim they are here only
to serve and protect.

05/29/2006

Author's Note: Just another sleepless LA night with the humans on the street when viewed from high up in my second floor apartment looking and acting like little people on an HD Plasma Big Screen TV. I grab my remote and change the channel.

Posted on 05/29/2006
Copyright © 2024 Dan Garcia-Black

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Michelle Angelini on 05/30/06 at 02:36 AM

Oh yes...good old LA, I love this city! Good story Dan, too true to be a fairy tale.
~Chelle~

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