Sir Francis Drake Poem by Raj Dronamraju

Sir Francis Drake got it wrong
His circumvention of the globe fed only by greed
He traded human beings, he was the first transitory Californian

I saw California as Sir Francis Drake saw California
As a way station, as a stopping point
As the end of the line where flood waters dump debris

Greed takes you to California
My small town can't meet my ill-defined need to own things and to be celebrated
You can't circumvent that remaining internal child's sense of want

So I stop at a service station in the San Fernando Valley
The air is dry and smells of desperation
An anguished tantrum hovers over every meeting with another person

It was much easier to die at sea in poorly built wooden ships
Looking for lands still considered unknown by those who considered themselves civilized
Now you discover what every other tourist coming through here discovers

It's hard in California
When they told us taking public transportation wasn't manly
And every one should own a car

Arrogance is the ship that sailed for California
It was a fully manned vessel
Your crew was the manic urgency that repelled lasting happiness