Surfin' San Onofre

(Part of a book on California Saints written in poetry and sonnets...)

Surfin' San Onofre

What had caused the noxious problems,

Again, at the San Onofre plant -

Where nuclear fission threatened,

A coup d’etat on the rolling, carefree, sunny -

Pacific rim of already; machine-heated water.

They said it was a falsified fire-watch,

Unrecorded; (someone didn’t want to walk around),

Which led to unchecked, old, chuggin’,

Semi-functioning twin reactors.

The efficiency/capacity was down, down...

Still is. Assez!

That’s right! - San Onofre (St.Onophrius),

Could still come to aid; help this situation -

King of the traditional au naturel – Uncovered.

(He wove leaf skirts to cover himself.

And used his own hair to cover,

Everywhere else, creative, enduring fella).

Picture him firing on a big kahuna wave -

On the Southern California Edison multi-fiasco -

Never afraid of layback, he would be in the green room.

Putting heavenly exposure and light into the chowder of SCE,

Sliding truthfully, without injury through the impact zone….

After all, he was the patron saint of waving weavers;

He knew how to slam a shuttle right between the threads.

On his saint prayer card (numbered 400[1]),

He rides the turquoise wave on embellished cardstock;

It states - “A santo to Carpe Diem for the ebbing environment;”

Now, in his evolved role as a political, surf-advisor -

And in honor of his casual occupation,  just call him… Humphrey[2].

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[1] Numbered for the approximate date of his demise

[2] Onophrius; in English