Beverly Hills

In our double-decker British import
The tour guide warns us of the
Legally trademarked Beverly Hills sign.
Your pictures are for personal use only, she says.
I snap a few for my personal use
And we sputter on in this diesel artifact
Of the Beatles era
Up Hollywood down Sunset
To the hotel where Belushi OD’d
The bar where Phoenix burned out
Places right out of the movies
Patented and trademarked.

At the Chinese Theater
We find ancient cement footprints
Of actors who long ago had the curtains closed.
I marvel at these giants of stage and screen,
How small their hands are,
How their footprints lead to nowhere.

First published in Falling Star Magazine.