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Order this writing in the collection book Layers of Creation available for only 1795

This appears in a pre-2010 issue of Down in the Dirt magazine. Saddle-stitched issues are no longer printed, but you can requesting it “re-released” through amazon sale as a 6" x 9" ISBN# book! Email us for re-release to order.

Broke in California

Gerald Zipper

Palms and pools
dry hills and brazen cars
so hungry you’ll eat worms
sleep under a tree in the park
sharp stones bite your back
wash up in the rear of a gas station
line up for a cardboard plate at the Center
line up for yellow cheese sandwich
everybody smells raw and soup
I smell too
look everyday for food and work
no car no job
try hanging a Klieg light
turning a moviola
making a resume
line up with the braceros
beg to pick the strawberries
land of golden promises
but you weren’t ready for it
you stole a can of sardines
the cashier looked away
Momma would have cried
you had to keep goig
up at first light and on the bus
trucking company hires for two days
film distributor lets you ship reels
out there every day
find a way inside
keep asking
become an entity
a person of substance
maybe someday even a star.

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