#30

The quiet vein that is Ventura Boulevard
through the valley at 4:00 am,
every shop a frozen wink,
neon asleep--

the "Movieland Motel" that promises
adult movies free with every room
coughs up a dude who stammers
to his red car, sticking out

like a fire underwater at this hour,
where the sound of his closing door
snaps in the silence, startles
and shakes while he barely acknowledges.

His disappearing car moves on,
swallowed by the pavement that turns
glass-like in the moonlight,
a double-mirror for the people

underneath, watching us, taking notes
and laughing hysterically.