if you could stand

[[ another horizon/boundary ]]

if you could stand

on the surface of the sea

be a tinpot Jesus

on the surface of the sea

you would see  

for three point one miles 

in any direction

you would be 

the ruler of all 

the fish in the ocean

the line that separates earth from sky
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

the line that divides all visible directions

three point one miles  

in all directions at once

with a five foot seven

tinpot Jesus standing still

LA River

[[ A list/sequence/geography song - based on an old police photo (1955) of a man's body lying under an LA bridge, plus the route of the LA River down to the Pacific. The blood flows under the bridges and people gather under the bridges. The last part is the healing, coming together from the atoms up. ]]

on a concrete bed

between concrete walls

what's left of a river
shines in the sun

on a concrete bed

between concrete walls

what's left of a man

stares into the sun

if ever a man

ever had any blood

it has all run away

down the LA River

under the bridges of Chinatown

under the bridges of Boyle Heights

under the bridges of Vernon

under the bridges of Bell Gardens

under the bridges of South Gate

under the bridges of Compton

under the bridges of Long Beach

under the bridges and into the bay

cool water comes down from the mountains 

cool water comes down from the clouds 

filling the river - hydrogen oxygen hydrogen

clinging together - hydrogen oxygen hydrogen

swallow the sea

forget the sky
you're on the side
of the ocean

pick up a shell
and hear the sighs [[ and "size" ]]
of the ocean

your lungs are full
of the surprise
of the ocean [[ gasping? or drowning? ]]

you're on the
far other side
of the ocean

you're on the
soft underside
of the ocean

from here the
sky is the size
of the ocean [[ here's the actual size, not sighs this time -- or maybe it is? ]]

[[ semi-silly semi-absurd series of stanzas that all mean something different but all end with "of the ocean". I think someone has drowned. ]]