Escondido

Don't look askance     at Escondido;
boring burb sure     bordering the desert,
but the late-night checker     is the world's chattiest at Von's,
and slurp a soda     and have a slice
with kitschy movie posters     at Killer Pizza from Mars.

In by Trolley, Back by Coaster

The fabulous fountain     at Santa Fe Depot
in its trolley-ringed plaza     is plenty of playground
for my little boy     and a bunch of new friends
who run in circles     around and around it.

At the Zoo II

Lions and tigers     and tortoises too,
but what makes the zoo     Xanadu to me
isn't animal     but mineral,
or numismatic:     penny-smashers!

At the Zoo I

It's kind of awkward     when the zookeeper asks
your toddler politely     if he'd like to pet
a tortoise, and he shouts     "Turtle! Turtle!"