The Return
When I saw the footprint
I knew I was not alone,
After long thought I knew
It could only be my own
Fortune smiles a sardonic smile
The wave comes in
And goes back out again
Out in the gap
A Coast Guard patrol boat
Fussing about and bull-horn hectoring
Parting of the waters
I weighed staying on for the five o'clock boat home
But after my one-man carnival
Brandy and a cannabis blend
Including Midnight Indica
My head grew heavy.
The three o'clock boat is breezy,
The five o'clock trip is chock-full
Of uptight office workers
Having a tipple and laughing
The coin drops
into the fare-box
And I'm on my way back home
Clang clang clang went the soundtrack
As I walked back to the boat
Subliminal seduction
Incredibly forlorn sound
Playing on a Chinese fiddle,
His clothes so were thread-bare
Was it part of his shtick?
Farewell
To the Maritime scene
To the Wharf,
To faraway Russian hill
Adieu to my Golden Gate
See you in March
For another Lenten date
Arrivederci, North Beach
Coit tower and Telegraph hill
Hope to see you again soon
The City as transformed,
Huge illegal promotional banners
Still cover several high-rise buildings,
The Mayor picked up the $5m tab for the NFL
There's that Barney Fife patrol boat again,
Roof-light turned-on,
Means business
Barking at kayakers
Angles
In a high-stakes game of chess
That's right I'm surveilling you too,
Deputy dog
And so we sailed
Back under the bridge
After a day's adventure
Kind of a relief to leave
Bye-bye, San Francisco
There's the vainglorious new
Bay Bridge span,
an old lighthouse structure
Back to Oakland
There may be no there there,
As Oakland native Gertrude Stein maintained
But there is an elsewhere
Got home around four,
Slept and woke up at five forty-five
Officially sunset on the Bay,
The five o'clock was crossing
To Oakland from Alameda
Time for dinner and a night of fun
8 February 2016
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