Under the Hollywood Sign. By John Drudge

When we were kids
We used to drink
Under the Hollywood sign
Innocent dreams
And empty canyon screams
The minutes ticking tangents
Into morning
Now it’s homelessness
And the hopeless
Tents and tourniquets
New stars
In the cool tinsel night
Ambitions held together
With the same Elmer’s glue
Where everyone
Still gets together
To dream
Under the Hollywood sign

John works as a clinical social worker and is the president of a national disability management company. He holds degrees in Social Work, Psychology, and Rehabilitation Services and has studied philosophy extensively.  He is an avid traveler and a long-term student of the martial arts holding a 3rd degree black-belt in Kempo Karate. His diverse educational and experiential background gives him a broad base from which to approach many topics in his poetry. John currently lives with his wife and two children in Caledon, Ontario, Canada.