Poem: To My Nitty Gritty City by Rebeccca S. Rea

to my nitty gritty city
by Rebecca S. Rea

i love you at dawning day
the smell of alleyways
and roses in my armsi love you at just-before-twilight
how that cat’s light horizon
illuminates your palms

i love you from the overpass
graffiti and ghetto blasts
in LA you look down to see the stars

but i love you best
(i think)
at raintime
pattering the monuments at forest lawn
dripping drag queens’ makeup on hollywood and vine
trickling and rippling
going puddle trippiling
the washes and the River
and the sky all cool and cleansed

oh i love the sound of you in the rain and wet
everything muffled
everything stilled
everything
(even traffic)
at rest.

yes.

this is how i love you best.