The sea takes on the color of the sky

The sea takes on the color of the sky. Almost Grey, they’d call it,

If it were on a paint chip sample in the hardware store.

Down the street, a faded old Ace Is The Place on a building up for sale,

Too expensive for anyone to buy, let alone lease.

And who would bother, anyway? On this neglected stretch, palms crumble

Tossing their discarded fronds at the foot of the storefront,

Only adding to the mess of endless trash.

Los Angeles in Spring is a mid-season series replacement

Making a cold premiere on a Sunday evening, to a lukewarm

Audience who knows it’s just a dull stopgap

Meant to last only until programming turns

Into familiar summer reruns, but until then,

It’s just lifeless grey, like the sea and the sky.