Arriving at LAX by Pamela Hammond

Flying in a 747 at 30,000 feet,
through the porthole,
a sunset wedges
between the Pacific
and mango-colored clouds.

Nearly home.
A relentless city ahead.
The ocean slips away.

Clogged highways
slide into view,
rivers of lights in stasis.

My teeth clench.
I reach
for my cell phone,
ready
to connect.

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about the author:
Pamela Hammond was born in Chicago, grew up in Southern California, and now lives in Santa Monica. She earned a bachelor’s degree in art from UCLA and a master’s degree from California State University, Northridge. Her early-on love of the outdoors has led her to travel, often to Northern California, and to Alaska, the Southwest, Hawaii, and New Zealand’s South Island, where she lived for a spell. She became a Los Angeles-based critic for Art News based in New York, reviewing exhibitions for more than a decade. She completed two poetry books, Encounters (2011) and Clearing (2012), produced by Red Berry Editions, Fairfax, California. Her poems have also appeared in numerous journals and publications.