I Had to Look Twice

By Janice O'Mahony

Tour bus on LA I-5, 98 degrees at 10 AM

Demolition derby cars rocket past

opportunistic rock roses and graffiti.

The Movie Stars’ Homes Tour so worth it!

Our witty guide was auditioning later that day

for a TV series. She was too cool for school.

It was odd to see a person out there on the shoulder.

I had to look twice. He stood stock still, posing,

a sweet smile, modest but proud.

It took me a second to realize he was nude.

Brown as a berry, no tan lines

so this was not his first rodeo.

The guide said lazily, “Only in LA!” then back to script.

I thought how good the sun must feel

in breezes blown by cars, soft dirt under his feet,

offering this quiet performance,

hoping for honks or hoots

shakin’ what mama gave him.

Texas-born Janice O’Mahony moved twenty more times before college. She had to became intrepid in her peripatetic Air Force family. Her mother’s family were Oklahoma farmers, Her father was an Irish Catholic laborer from Brooklyn. This unlikely union came about in the jumble of WWII. She was born in the post-war baby boom. Janice degreed in anthropology and chemistry, then got a Masters of Social Work. She devoted her professional life to social justice and advocacy for the marginalized. She lives on the coast of Washington.