“Laguna Beach Longing” is a poem written by teen activist, artist, and journalist Anya Thakur on embracing yourself fully, celebrating art, abundance and artists, taking pride in your memories and heritage, and a reflection upon nostalgic longing for the California coast and beaches of Orange County, a place of natural beauty, diversity and inspiration.
Laguna Beach longing
Laguna Beach, I’m longing for
highways that fade to sandy sidewalks
and sunlight pouring down like golden rain
in metallic hues of bronze and copper
on skin softened by seabreeze and saltwater
waves edged with lace-fine foam
and artists who capture it all
hanging above time-worn leather or galleries with auras of glass prisms and silver chrome
vignettes of gas stations and traffic and crowded oceanside scenes
suspended in time
a sugar cone heaped with lemony gelato made salty sweet with Johnny Rocket’s fries
a girl’s chlorine-bleached butternut macadamia hair dripping in coconut oils and pure light
saturated pastel skies raked with spiderwebbing branches and stormed through with eucalyptus leaves
she’s artlessly hanging of trees and becomes breathless smiles and bruised knees
and one of those artists is brushing gold on plexiglass
and she stands, coral pink flecked palms and sea salt caramel swells and chocolate-coated fleshy masses
I’m longing for
her
ultraviolet in her eyes, prickling light in her words, laguna beach whirls
an empath, a cotton candy coma, and a heart attack
and i’m chasing her through the waves, knee-deep in tangled strands of seaweed and cold water
as she smiles, and pauses to look back
laguna beach, I am her
what I’ve been longing for
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