36 Hours San Diego

So I'll pick you up at the station, okay?
It'll say Santa Fe but it's Amtrak.

I want you to meet my love, and
Show you movies of girls' love and fears, and
let you play with the dogs in the dog park.

I've got a coupon for sushi!
(Sorry, it's kinda squishy)
And I'll show you the town, from the taqueria on down
To the mall.

There's a place not too far where the cliffs are striped sand and
Twisted trees grow from the salt.
Have you met my fruit man? My coffee stand? My masseuse?
We'll return slightly sunburned to my bichon frisee,
Who will scold us for leaving without her.

Then there's a party at home for a couple
Who's parting at summer's end, and who wanted to
Share their grilled tofu and honeydew
Before they do.

You can sleep in my little house - just the right size! -
Though the neighbor's baby's cries might wake you.

For your last day here's another feast -
A park filled with roses and plants you won't see back East
To savor before you fly.

So are you all set? Want a snack? Magazine?
Have you got all you need?

I sure do. And I'm not coming back with you.
I'm going back home, to my love and my art.

But friendship knows no distance, regardless of the coast.
So till the next trip reunites us, I'm the friend who loves you most.

(Worse has been printed in the New Yorker.)