Inspiration

found at the bottom of a can of beer

or in the midst of the final

exhale of pot smoke

a good book

a bad book

a song that makes sad people happy

scrubbing dishes for six dollars an hour

daydreams of places better than any on earth

a quiet villa where neighbors are neither

heard nor scene

the crash-boom of wannabe waves hitting the

Long Beach shore

a bright sun that does not want to go away,

even at 7 p.m.

charcoal scent wafting through office windows

the soft whizzing noise of a cat’s snore

take your pick.

they all work for me.

Ryan Ritchie is a poet and prose writer based out of Long Beach, California. He makes his living  as a freelance journalist. He is also the assistant editor of the Burning Shore Review.