walking south park

walking south park after yoga,

I ask my poet teacher where

can I read her work, she says

follow me to my poetry tree.

So I

do, a few blocks north past houses

of liveable sizes, stucco and shingles

salmon-colored with palm trees, some

portray posters that say something about

ending destructive capitalism with

gardens of roses and indigenous cacti

Butterflies abound, I read somewhere

that butterflies represent resurrection

These ones are orange and yellow

with black spots

They are not shy

We talk about the power of poetry

and the new Geffen Gallery and

the necessity of joy

now like always and how we

have to seek

I wave goodbye and start walking

down into the canyon, Eucalyptus

on the inhale, up past parents

playing in gardens with toddler

children

Everyone has a dog, I miss

Riley

I go into an independent bookstore and

ask where is the poetry section, two

shelves right there the owner says and I

Squat, gaze upon Dante and Virgil, Emily

and Carl and Kazim who the owner says

is a regular

really? he lives here?

who knew he teaches at my alma mater,

the owner says they have upcoming

readings

it’s on the calendar, before I leave

I hear a woman say she works at

Mission Trails

I am walking one of the Fortuna trails

tomorrow with my mother, she is

teaching me the joys of walking in

dry brush

this place feels soft

I walk further, talk to Amnesty

International activists about

ICE, I tell them I live in Israel

and we hear each other, they

cry, so do I

Almost every block has a glass-covered

box of books to borrow or take, a sort

of honor system lending library, the

boxes are full, the cafes are full and

I see a restaurant whose add says:

food made beautiful

I snap a photo and send it to

my daughter, then walk

along the park

little league baseball games,

independent schools and

churches letting out

so many hats! purple and pink

with lace

Past an outdoor market

for dogs—leashes and

tags, some jewelry too

silver, amethyst

doesn’t amethyst have magical

power?

my birthstone, maybe

it’s a sign.