SAN DIEGO DREAM

I've lived in many
Places, but I was born
In East San Diego,
Then a sunny and
Peaceful place.
You can't go back,
They say.
My boyhood house
Is now a crack house
With a truck mirror
Mounted on it to see
If the cops
Are coming.
Freeways that I
Don't really know
Cut through
All my old
Neighborhoods.
My boyhood church
Now offers Masses
In Vietnamese.
Like them,
I'm a refugee.

(That much is true.
The rest is a
dream, but can you
tell the difference?)

Intimidated by
Massive hotels,
Some impossibly
Dark,
We sought refuge
In Balboa
Park.
We found a small
(and very dated)
Guest cottage
In the San Diego
Zoo,
There, we comfortably
Spent the night.
Yes, it's
True.
I'd rather live
In the zoo.

8/4/15