Contemplating Hell

Contemplating Hell, as I once heard it,

My brother Shelley found it to be a place Much like the city of London.

I,

Who do not live in London, but in Los Angeles,

Find, contemplating Hell, that it Must be even more like Los Angeles.  Also in Hell,

I do not doubt it, there exist these opulent gardens With flowers as large as trees, wilting, of course,

Very quickly, if they are not watered with very expensive water.

And fruit markets With great leaps of fruit, which nonetheless  Possess neither scent nor taste.

And endless trains of autos,

Lighter than their own shadows, swifter than Foolish thoughts, shimmering vehicles, in which Rosy people, coming from nowhere, go nowhere.

And houses, designed for happiness, standing empty,

Even when inhabited.  Even the houses in Hell are not all ugly.

But concern about being thrown into the street Consumes the inhabitants of the villas no less Than the inhabitants of the barracks.