California girls

the four

of us,

a rag tag group of teens

from

the other side

of the track,

not even knowing

how

poor we really were,

decided

to go to California.

why not

get out of this neighborhood

of duplexes

with tar

roofs,

the city smoke,

the storm drains, the barbed

wire,

the bowling

alley,

the broken windows of

our youth?

why not flee to the sunny

shores of the west

coast.

to California sunshine,

and girls

girls girls frolicking

on the beaches.

we sang the song

as we drove,

but our Chevy broke down

just outside

of Largo Maryland.

and that was it.

dreams differed.

we hitch hiked home

after

donuts

in a coffee shop we found,

and often wondered,

what if.