I pass your sign,
It reads “Welcome to Los Angeles, California”
To the left is your gleaming Hollywood sign.
Once a part of a housing development project,
Now it shows me I am in the City of Angels.
I stroll down your most popular street,
Hollywood Boulevard,
home to the Walk of Fame.
Hundreds of stars forever immortalized
on your concrete.
There’s your Chinese Theater,
home to the imprints of your legends.
My hand’s only slightly smaller than Marilyn Monroe’s.
Across the street,
perhaps your most famous hotel,
The Hollywood Roosevelt,
forever haunted by the ghosts of those unable to leave your limelight behind.
A quarter mile down the road,
The Kodak Theater,
home to the Academy Awards since 1929.
Only the great ones exit those doors with gold in their hands.
Off to Sunset Boulevard,
where you keep your clubs,
there’s The Viper Room.
It’s all closed down now,
but the popular club was once owned by Johnny Depp,
until the tragic death of River Phoenix
brought on by the darkness of your city.
The Viper Room,
home to lost souls.
Your oceans bring in magnificent thick waves.
The sun heated sand massages my toes.
Your salty water dries out my skin,
but I don’t care.
Later I’ll check out Rodeo Drive
and buy moisturizer that costs too much.
Then maybe I’ll window shop
because only your starving models
can wear a size zero.
Vast Griffith Park,
home to the 360 degree view of your city.
Frequently visited by your celebrities and their families
and your sleazy paparazzi who won’t leave them alone.
There’s the spot a legend was killed on your watch
James Dean Conjunction,
home to…a sign
because he’s buried back East.
Beverly Hills, 90210,
home to your rich and glamorous.
Posh and Becks are among those
who planted roots here.
Oh, Los Angeles
You’re a city of greed
And a city of dreams.
A city of love and
a city of loss.
A city of oddball hopefuls
and broken failures.
You are The City Of Angels
with a few sneaky devils in between
But there’s nothing about you I would change
“Welcome to Los Angeles, California”
In six months,
home to me.