Here is a gesture. It will explain
what I mean to tell you.
Watch the tops of the palm trees first,
then the windows of buildings.
What I mean to tell you is look
where somebody/nobody lives–
inside those windows, those buildings.
Let each of your eyes slide down
to where somebody/nobody lives,
To the bald mannequin on stage.
Let each of your eyes slide down
to the wig shop. Feel the people
passing each other on the sidewalk
the breezes in the spaces between them
will batter you a little. What I want
you to see is the brazen way summer
comes to Los Angeles; confident, brash
in air, on the streets and the tourists,
the colors of molten metals running together ,
tourists running with those colors.
Stare at the bald mannequin on stage.
Watch the tops of the palm trees first,
then the wig shop. You’ll feel the people…
Here is a gesture. It will explain.
