Yosemite of My Heart: Poems of Adventure in California
3 poems from Lalit Kumar
Yosemite of My Heart
Music resonates across the vale,
Concert stage set ablaze
In thunderous delight, Daybreak.
Yosemite Valley-
Meadows and the Merced-
Wakes up gradually, waits in a dream.
Half Dome,
Rocks like a lead guitarist,
Plucks strings, plays frets
Of the grand castle.
El Capitan
Provides the Bass,
Cathedral Rocks
Rounds out the rhythms
Of soulful Rock n Roll.
Bridal Veil Falls
Gushes forth a drum beat, crashing
Winds bring the cymbals.
This Tunnel View*
And Yosemite of my heart,
Intertwine in glorious sights and sounds
Streaming, surging, rising in crescendo.
Wild Yosemite,
Of solid granite walls,
Standing steady to the passing millennia—
Surge me with adventurous ardor!
O, for the distance I traveled,
Traversed miles and lengths and breadths
Yosemite in changing seasons
Yosemite in dawns and dusks.
Though I wonder of its splendor
Yet unseen, horizon unexplored
Its vistas tattooed on my naked eyes
Its sound a buzz in my listening ears.
Of Beats, Bohemians and Bukowski
When Jack Kerouac wrote
On the Road, he was a
Bohemian traveler seeking
Respite from weariness
In the sinuous Pacific stretch
From Big Sur to the North Beach.
Poetry emerged from living ordinary lives.
Beat was born in San Francisco.
That free-spirit vibe,
That bon-homie,
That c’est la vie-
It’s time to feel the energy again
Waltzing through North Beach bohemia
Down to the singular Burning man.
‘Find something you love
And let it kill you’, wrote
Charles Bukowski
He was not speaking of
Poetry alone.
He posed a question directly to us,
Asking resolutely-
Have you found your slow poison, yet?
Have you tasted the slow burn of your raging passion?
Have you gone far out, chasing your aspiration?
LA Musings and Celluloid Dreams
A slice of daydream,
Unforgettable storyline
Born under swaying palms
Of an art-deco Santa Monica,
The writer spins his narrative in LA.
Down the Sunset Boulevard
He will take a stroll in creative amazement
And spend another idle day-
Hollywood Walk of Fame
Venting cinematic desires,
Rapt in a nascent ambition,
He gawks at Beverly Hills or Bel Air,
Think of Chandler and Bukowski.
He may change his storyline,
Time and again, to fit his muse
Of the moment. With a canvas
Of celluloid dreams,
Sepia-tinted-
Once upon a time in Hollywood-
Banking upon his past and future.
Success and fame.
In his frenzy,
The writer roams the hills and boulevards,
Freeways crisscrossing the sprawling
City of Dreams, Los Angeles.
Wresting with longings, heart-aches and celluloid dreams.
Lalit Kumar is author of two poetry books, Yosemite of my Heart -Poems of Adventure in California and Years Spent – Exploring Poetry in Adventure, Life and Love that was a Top 3 Select in Indie Poetry by BookLife. He writes a regular column in India Currents magazine sharing his passion for adventure and travel.
He has been published in various Anthologies including San Francisco Writer’s Conference “Everything Intensely” and Our California online anthology. He has participated in various author panels, book readings and conducted poetry workshops including at South Asian Literature & Arts festival (SALA) 2024, Litquake 2024 in San Francisco, Mesa Book Festival 2023, Truckee Lit Crawl 2025, San Joaquin Valley Book fest 2025, Tahoe Lit fest 2025 and others. Find him on Instagram at @lalitk06 or www.lalitkumaronline.com
