The Golden State

They claim nothing rhymes with
orange. 
That it has no true equal
in name, in zest, in color.

But nothing quite rhymes with 
California
either. 

If I were to draw from 
a dictionary, 
I could define surfing
as
the way we study tides
in search of the perfect wave. 

And if I were to pull from 
a thesaurus,
I could describe the redwoods
as
our elders, our protectors. 

But if I were to speak from
my heart, 
I would rhyme
orange
with 
California.