billy told me

that in the summer of '67

he was asked to go to malibu to house sit
for a family friend who was going

to italy until the fall
a little place on the beach

right when he got there he knew
this was the place he needed to be

the only place he ever felt
he could breathe freely

the sun and the beach
beautiful people who would smile at you

colored surf boards
lined up like a rainbow fence

and nights spent
drinking and watching wine sunsets

then nights filled
with warm laughter

falling asleep in the arms of someone
that made the line of dreams blur

as morning rose
and surf crashed

but what do you do
when you belong to a place that you can't have

like being banished from
an eden that never was yours

then off to the war
you come home

but the garden is gone
for so many sad reasons

that would haunt your dreams forever.