North on Interstate 5

It is the same

40 years since

the golden hills

I once took for dead

Alive with oaks

And time

Alone with my  G(irlfriend)  P(ositioning)  S(ystem)

My oh so smooth guide out

On L.A’.s new concrete thoroughfares

And towns built far from the maddening hub

One blinkered view; away

A hot, dry temporary peace

The grapevine surprise   

The inexorable sameness – unknowable climb

Then the drop to California’s

Golden valley

Rich, the experience

Still – no billboards

Refreshing

Until

“Congress Created Dust Bowl”?   

Disappearing signs at 70 mph

I can smell Water

Rights issues

Still

But my old heart forgets

At 152

Gilroy smells    

Good green onions and garlic

I am 19 again

Cursing my old Grand Prix

Overheating – as I never could

And I consider my destinations

Engagements planned

How far to go?     

Judgment entering – bullet-fast.

I thought I’d be better at this

Escaping archived failures