MIMOSAS FOR ONE

  As i coast the slope of the street  I look toward the sunset I try to find the street between the stop signs I’ve circled the blocks where the parking is free where I can see the water just as I crest the ridge along the muni track I see a block  Where I can get a good cup of coffee Where I can still get a meal under $10, cash only please And that one place where owner has become my friend I see a new store has opened that sells nothing I can afford I see a small brewery that I like despite gentrification Give me a cafe where the special is served on Tuesday Give me a movie theater with a neon marquee Give me a bar where the jukebox still takes quarters I can’t afford to live there but visit often comfort is a deep breath of salted air

 2014 was a big year.  After living in a great studio apartment with high ceilings and a neat walk in closet, a pool that felt semi private, and little patio I never used much, I moved.  I was invited to join one of my best friends and a few other like minded folks in a dream home in San Francisco’s West Portal neighborhood. Aside from a few generically tense & frustrating roommate moments, it was the most wonderful experience, and I adored living in San Francisco. It has my whole heart, and given the opportunity to return, I would in a Muni Minute (OK, maybe not the best comparison, but I’m not a New York gal) Once the home disbanded in 2018, I returned to my childhood home in San Jose to regroup and contemplate the future...quite possibly out of the Bay Area. I settled into a familiar if not totally comfortable routine. I had a steady job that paid me more than I had been making at a Theatre Company that I loved, but was working me ragged, to the point where anxiety...