Wednesday prose poem response: structure reversals — Shortly after promising to love, honor, and cherish, I said goodbye with a tearful hug, leaving on friendly terms, and a send-off via a U-Haul truck. My wounds and scars came with me, wrapped tightly into a single painful body, and triggered much too easily. I brought her death to the West…

A homeless man’s rant against his creator — On a litter-strewn L.A. beach, a homeless man looked into the fullness of sunrise, spread his arms wide to encompass the sun’s girth, snarling as if it were an intruder, and then flipping it the bird. There is no law against giving sunrise the finger. The man believed he was justified to…

One of my favorite Santa Barbara landmarks — Santa Barbara has some beautiful landmarks. These include the courthouse, the largest Moreton Bay Fig tree in the U.S., and the gorgeous coastline. But my favorite Santa Barbara landmark is the cow atop a white building on Milpas Avenue. If a cow could stand tall — this one does it…

Rest in love and song Dear David, You probably don’t remember me, but I was the older guy drinking lavender tea at the Good Cup in Santa Barbara four years ago. I recognized you right away. You stood at the counter with your long, white balding hair and walrus-style mustache…

Especially the one where the cat is wearing a Go-Pro — Obsession: the domination of one’s thoughts or feelings by a persistent need or desire to watch cat videos instead of sleeping, eating, or socializing. — Webster-Tulin’s Hybrid Dictionary I remember the days my wife and I used to play Scrabble in the evening to relax. Now we watch cat videos…

A stormy revelation — I like to be in a coffeehouse when it rains. It pleases me to share my beverage with random strangers in a warm, dry place, listen to an esoteric playlist, and inhale the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. I could have stayed home. It could have been easier, but I…

At the “I Have a Dream” World Peace Garden — At the World Peace Rose Garden, I meditate among the colorful flowers, the roses that honor African Americans, the peace movement, civil rights, and the memory of Mahatma Gandhi. I meditate on Martin Luther King Jr., a murdered man’s legacy, the red flowers that were laid on his grave and the carriage that drove…

And his son Mark — ∘ VINTAGE TV · Lucas knew how to handle a rifle · Larger than life · People deserve a second chance · Back in the early sixties, I watched The Rifleman religiously Mark was a good kid and a lucky one, too. Even though he didn’t have a mother, Mark…