The late great Kei Utsume
Who lived there all his life
Except when he was forced
Off locked in Manzanar
Got on stage at Al’s Bar
And declaimed:
It isn’t the City of Angels
It’s the city of La Reina
De Los Angeles
The Queen of Angels
Mary, man
You could call it Maryland

The Queen of Angels Hospital
Towering
Over the Hollywood Freeway
There
Inhaling clouds of lead
From day one son
of David said
As Isaiah foresaw
My mother was Mary
Rosemary, so what
It’s close enough
I wouldn’t change a jot of law
No, toss it all into the flames
these flames wrought by
these selfsame laws
Of these false gods

Mary’s still there
To this day
Her hair’s all grey
Enrobed in smoke
Her cloak of angels
Streams about her
Glowing with the newly dead
Expanding
There’s a sudden Pop
A spray of sparks
As more and more souls
Join the stars

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