Weekend in Santa Barbara

See the palm trees with their tiger stripes
promise a new kind of elegance;
See the divorcees feel a touch more desirable today
and the elders know that what they say is still important;
See the couples one by one turn into valentines
in the sighs of those not quite folded together;
See the poodles in the baby strollers sharing the vacation,
see the surfers lose themselves in the waves;
See the artists hide behind their work in rainbow parasols
quietly valuing other people's eyes;
See the found art of a life inside one shopping cart
and how it makes one almost believe the face beside it
really is the orphan son of Jesus, Mary and Joseph;
See one man's wicked rant at the counter
create a munificent smile in the cashier;
See the antiquated mission bring to life the faith of the flock
(like the birds that come to roost on its algaed fountains);
See the world of guilt and envy, missiles and debt
become the one of pelicans, sails and mist...

Know this transformation
is always seen in you, as well;
Your look of love that lifts up others like the wind
blows you a joyous inch above the ground as well,
Makes you part of the dream-awakening swells
that rise toward Montecito...