Carmel Beach Parties

In Carmel we had bonfire parties,

Between houses on a sandy cove….

We all brought wood and bottles of wine;

The sober ones seldom drove.

We tossed dried seaweed in the fire

It smoked and popped like fire crackers…

These retail movers and shakers,

Reduced to asthmatic, drunken slackers.

There never was a citizen complaint

About our parties or the fires…

We were free to watch the sunsets,

Backed up with waves and seal choirs. 

The world was our oyster,

Until the population doubled…

Like breeding rats in Skinner’s Box,

Life grew anxious and very troubled.

Fires now, are against the law;

Beach pollution kept on growing.

Cigarette smoke, now outlawed too,

Revelers cited with big fines owing. 

A copper roof atop flagstone,
Reflected the bonfire's light...
The architect picked the perfect spot;
Frank Lloyd was indeed Mr. Right.   

Photo: Bob Aronson

My Empty Bucket List

I’ve the time and money to travel,

Yet there’s no place I yearn to go…

I’m tired, but full of memories,

Often, all I need to know.

Maybe alone or with a friend,

I will someday take the time…

To sit in a shallow river,

In a lawn chair with a glass of wine,

Again. Big Sur River Inn

Transgressions

In the quiet darkness just before dawn,

I headed for California at night…

The ferry shrank in my rearview mirror,

Until the present was out of sight.

Every mile down the road,

Erased another week, a year…

Inching by as sign posts passed,

Towards the life I once held dear. 

Most of the friends I revisited,
Found new friends to take my place...
Those I missed the most of all
Were in a totally brand new space. 

I discovered there’s no time travel,

No matter how the road is long…

I knew driving back on the ferry,

The past is a memory, but gone.