How sad it is to journey to Santa Monica and I can’t find it.
The open blue sky hides behind canyon walls
I look for glimpses of the sun and the sea, but they are also hard to find.
Instead winds tempest through the canyon walls like clothing being torn from a corpse.
I wander the narrow sidewalks as cars move slowly by.
I look at trees, leafless without sunlight and air – looking old in their age
Nature corrupted by greed
Instead, I’m lost in an ocean of development
The sun caresses then quickly disappears
Traffic comes instead
The day ends as a curtain of sunlight falls that both hides and reveals.
Feeling defeated, I stretch my legs and turn toward home – feeling lost as my city is lost
As I wander home – how funny I can’t find it – like Santa Monica has it also moved on?
This poem was written four years ago by Ron Goldman. Is Santa Monica better off now than four years ago?
Our following columns will address the Downtown Community Plan, a plan that may be good but not great. Our residents deserve a great plan. Quoting my colleague, Thane Roberts, “we would do well to appreciate more the sounds of the birds and the beauty of blue skies than the ringing of the cash register and the dark shadows that are consuming our community.” And, to further quote Le Corbusier, “The fate of cities are decided in the town hall.” We can’t afford to waste this opportunity and further diminish the quality of life in our city.
Ron Goldman for SMa.r.t (Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow)
Thane Roberts AIA, Architect, Robert H. Taylor AIA, Mario Fonda-Bonardi AIA Planning Commissioner, Ron Goldman FAIA, Daniel Jansenson Architect, Samuel Tolkin AIA, Phil Brock, Santa Monica Arts Commission. For previous articles see santamonicaarch.wordpress.com/writings.
