Charmed

I am 73 and charmed
By the quaint loveliness of
Southern California,
Always in bloom
Ever changing
Each wave
Unique
Like waving
Palms & pines
In the sea breeze.
Not like the stony frugal
Fences of New England or
The softer bay and inlets
Of the Chesapeake’s
Oysters, rockfish,
And crabs.
A bit like
Texas
But
Here
We did
Not so much
Take the land by
Force of war as by
A timely inheritance if
Not ours then soon seen
As such by a deluge of eager
Immigrants whose mixed
Values and traditions
And foods still make
California like the
Republic of old
Austin but
Bigger
But
With
The Virgin
Of Guadalupe
Surfing painted
On the side of
A pizzeria in
Encinitas
Which
Means little
Oaks, with palms
And pines a
Charming
Place to
Read
Out
Life.