earth note 100

marshall trail, pittsburgh

a good number of these stones
have been turned over
a thousand times

there's no record of this
beginnings often go unnoticed
but they look too smooth
to have gone untouched

a storm early this year
put a few hefty branches across the trail
my dog negotiates the path
of least resistance
obediently
i follow

the tent caterpillars have moved on
hemlock beech maple oak
have reclaimed the canopy
the monoculture forests up north
not so lucky
you know the lesson
of monocultures
but it doesn't hurt to repeat it

a few politicians wake up
to the new reality
but they're still debating
whether it will be
fire or ice
next time

our hands link back
to the stories & stones
that go unnoticed

--- e b bortz

(published in split w*sky, December 2006)