Vanity Chase

1

Chewed up and regurgitated

Neither calm nor agitated

Strolling down the shore

Soaked in coastal mist

The Space

The Golden Gate Bridge

The hills and a mountain Ridge

We walk and bike at a loose pace

Running away while keeping abreast

Refocusing and cleansing our lenses

Sounds of a highway

Cemetery

Shrieks of seagulls

Gliding in a random asymmetry

In the distance, they fly and they drive

Right here they hover

Right here we hide

Right here we stash our time aside

2

Someone on a pier is holding a trembling line

Letting it loose then pulling it tight

Making an impressive catch

The hut was open till five!

Alas, a bit too late.

I came from the coffee shop on the other end

under renovation

Shutting my eyes

Giving in to a brief meditation

Looking to check the time

Turning around

3

Now observing the stately skyline

associated with

Demands on my time

And a silence of rhymes

Keep walking.

It is not serene any longer:

The bills come to mind,

The questions, the phone calls, the what-to-decide.

I wish for a moment I’d turn a feline

Escaping from the tall order of making do

into the woods...

Lo! All of a sudden I felt four paws

(They can go soft or scratchy.)

Whiskers signaling myriads of smells

And, of course, my personal tail.

Such a wonder!

I can sway...

And I want to nap right away...

But what is this ground vibration

As I am being engulfed

in a tension?...

On my low horizon

From sandy landline

Appear

Two running

Two tongues sticking out

Two teethy canines.

My human persona

Remembers them playful,

Apparently, cats rather see them disdainful!

I had no intention to cringe

And run

Then jump the hedge

Then freeze on the ground

Then seeing them closing

On two sides

Have my hair go up

Getting ready to fight

Then using a moment

Dash to the hills

Looking down at brats

Catching breath, taking pills

But I did.

What a lowly existence

To be a toy at any instance

Note in a diary:

"Ambiguity in thoughts had backfired

Should have more specifically wished to become a lion."

Enough dreaming

I rose looking down at barking thugs

And shouted out "Hey, owners, take charge of your dogs"

4

More mist

Watching sails hurry back

Delaying my leaving

It has become difficult to read signs about native plants

Last breath of fresh air and let my car

Disappear into the forest of speed and light

As wonders of darkness descend on the site.