september in venice

i parked off of 17th street
right where it opens up
to Venice beach

the crowds were huge

a man was trying to stop another man,
but when he wouldn't
pay attention,
the first man asked if it was
because he was black
the second guy said no, it was because
he was trying to sell him something

a skateboarder rushed by,
swerving between my wife
and i
a blur of board shorts
and he was gone
like the waves
taking away a crumpled
water bottle

a strong smell of pot was coming
from one of the dispensaries
stuffed in between run down shops

a guy in green scrubs
with a pot leaf over his chest
beckoned for us to
take advantage
of their thirty dollar evaluation
to get a medical card

i smiled and kept walking

there was a rush of body odor
and weed
mingling with incense
and stale beach

a cop drove through,
but there was nothing to see-
just weird people
doing weird shit
in a weird place

at least they were being honest
about it

there are so many others
trying their best
to hide their oddness

but on Venice beach,
weird is just what it is-
right there,
out in the open
for everyone to see

after we had a couple of hot dogs,
we watched a guy skating down the sidewalk
playing an electric guitar
with the biggest smile on his face
he was painted up brighter than his guitar
and wore a makeshift turban on his head
to keep the dreadlocks in place

my wife said, "he seems so happy."

"it's good to find a place where you fit," i replied.