Michael Caylo-Baradi


Mapping Los Angeles





On a hill, I see its boundaries stretch,
Crawling into night-air, adjusting horizons,
Shaking fault-lines, resetting borders,
       into freeways, desire.


Its skin: a vast geography of gleaming
Shadows, resplendent textures of neon,
Immense as love in obsession,
        furious, expansive.


Its streets pulsate radiance,
Mariachi, halogen. Intersections slip into
Speed, sucking petroleum, sweaty,
       incendiary.


We are each other’s maps, indulging in
Pornographies of directions, anarchies of dislocations,
Explosive, promiscuous,
      in accelerated devotions.

 

  (c)Michael Caylo-Baradi 2008