Reading “LA Central Library” from Garden of Rain
Dennis Price Show
May 9, 2017
LA Central Library
Standing in line
for 15 minutes of internet
Tom Bradley Wing
LA Central Library
the alkies
the druggies
even the homeless
need to charge their iPods.
Quintessential LA
quintessentially speaking
the glim and glamour
the vim and stamina
of those who lost their lives
to glass and steel
steal and beggary
lost their lives yet still survive.
How they cleaned up downtown
they say. meaning those
who fell by the wayside
were tucked away
swept away
cinders from a vintage fireplace
shoveled off to an invisible part of town
where they can’t be seen.
Unlike the ragged man
in the underground mall
on Fifth and Hope
chased by security
chased for a steaming cup of coffee
proffered by a McDonald’s employee
a placation perhaps
a plume of hope
in this hopeless city
where dreams are made
of celluloid and steel
and the Triforium Carillon
no longer rings true
no longer rings
thanks to judges and judgments
and the injustices of Justicetown.
Yet this downtown library still stands,
despite the flames, still commands,
despite the people who lost their souls
a testament to the restive phoenix
that shall always rise and rise.
© Mike Maggio 2017
