love & wind turbines for sandy

above idaho falls
rolling steady
like a quiet wave
predictable
     unlike blood
     & chemistry
at the valley hospital
refusing logic
more variables
still to be defined
it's hard to see beyond the falls

odd metaphors
override the olympic games
     even with the brits
     timely touting
     their national health system
     in the opening ceremonies
and marina silva lending
her open amazon hands
to carry the olympic flag

wind and sun
will bring us home
     eventually
beyond the reaches
of this atomic desert
scattered forests
indomitable snake river
     we find wet green brush
          our compass

--- e b bortz

earth note 194

three eagle encounter near jackson hole, wyoming

1 p.m.
snow caps on the teton range
are being dispersed
though they struggle to stay intact
     feeding the snake river
     white water
     still a deep blue
     sometimes green
     down under
a dogged fly fisher casts & recasts
kids play in cold gushers

a lone eagle circles
too quick for the camera

8 p.m.
we wait in the roadside dusk
near the gros ventre river
for a glimpse of a moose
wanting to stay hidden
     a sudden uncanny convergence again
     with the eagle
     this time a couple soaring
     then perching on a barren tree
     together
     a warning?
as the snow fades with the haze
into night
the grand teton's
fate is uncertain

colors blend then die on the peaks
indifferent to our wanting
they are what they are
     their gift aplenty

--- e b bortz

note: unusual about this encounter with the eagles
is that this was originally written with only the first
eagle (on the snake river) included...then revised for
the later encounter that same day with the eagles
on the gros ventre.

(published in opednews.com, July 23, 2012)

earth note 193

it's tough trying
to zone out
in a backwoods oregon internet bar
     truck racing     roaring away
     on the nascar channel
          all five televisions

surrounding it all
     jagged half-logged national piney forest
shaking up every angry mosquito
from a hiding place
left to pick at humans     even canines
when given half a chance

the sisters peek
from snow capped peaks
the chill at crescent lake
meets a thick-skinned kayak
     & volcanic scratches
     like a signature incognito

and still
each sunrise and sunset
in the old coastal towns
of astoria and florence
and a score in between
     are all unique compositions
          reflections
ragged rocks & surf
shadows
& seals
that throw the unpredictable
     into the abstract

only a great painter
can give the images
     life
with color and texture
     we're all in the spectrum
and with great reverence
     i leave it at that

--- e b bortz

(published in opednews.com, July 18, 2012)

requiem for a seal

oregon coast

at port orford
     a misnomer for aboriginal land
     stolen by congress and so-called settlers
     in the 1850s

a seal has beached
at the far end
of an empty lonely port
     claiming
     to still be working

straight up majestic rocky shoulders
old growth forested mountains
     within eyesight

are as good a resting place as any

the large smooth body
lay lifeless on shore
in a strange windswept position
beached by old age?
injured by man?

we fail again
to stay up late enough
for the sunset
a bit to our north
behind the sharp dark rock
that throws a shadow
     a tomb

--- e b bortz

earth note 192

two kayaks...
lake mcdonald glacier national park
montana
     to
curlew lake state park
washington

a sudden hail storm
wild thunder     lightning     downpour
repeating showers & sun in ten-minute
     rainforest-like intervals
filling in the gap
between idyllic
     & fear
the unexpected stamina
     of your hands & tent
shaking through your insides at times
'cept for the young & aware    
escaping to missoula
     hopeful
we're all passing thru this
     sea change of consciousness
     together

from a common origin 
     colors are distinct
     yet the clarity & chill
     wakes you
     like holy water 
     
--- e b bortz

(published in opednews.com, July 4, 2012)