Tuesday, November 29, 2016

earth note 439

turkey buzzards
swarming
touching down
a mile from last year's
gathering point
they seem to have lost
a little speed
or maybe just deflated enthusiasm
the mangroves
haven't changed too much
though the wind
keeps the ibis
undercover

--- e b bortz

Monday, November 21, 2016

this is a test

for the next week
i'm going to try
to not say
the following words
and see if my mind clears
or my attitude improves:
trump
clinton (either one)
republican or republicrat
democrat or demopublican
dnc
rnc
imf
mf
cabinet appointments
traffic on I-95

--- e b bortz

Sunday, November 20, 2016

earth note 438

even without a photo
the sight of a solitary hawk
in a mangrove
as the kayak slips up
fifteen feet between our eyes
as they meet
her or his eyes
head & shoulders above
peering down
no image
no prey
i move on

ibis clustering
along the intercoastal
standing their ground
pecking forever pecking
where the grass
is always greener

osprey waits
on a barren branch
head jerking east then west
the most patient will prevail
     or to each
     according to their need

--- e b bortz

Monday, November 14, 2016

earth note 437

our kayaks
have always been
rudderless

you learned how
to put your shoulders
arms and back
into the motion
without the help
of navigators
pollsters
charlatans

if the wave breaks against you
you learn to make corrections
before it swallows you

there's nothing like
the salt
of your brow
as it touches your lips

---e b bortz
 

Saturday, November 12, 2016

earth note 436

there's always one
drafting on the migratory flock
saving up for the headwinds
& storms
a long journey
sometimes has
no logical ending
though you know it
the moment you arrive
steady heartbeats
are not for storing
spend them as you go

--- e b bortz

Monday, November 07, 2016

earth note 435

not too often
that the sky moves to
a deep blue
on this side
of the continental divide

giving you angles of sunlight
deceptively cold & piercing thru the canopy
from the marshall trail
lies a forest of leaves
to lead you on

stone benches
pull your body heat
straight to ground
discharging
the angst of the season

--- e b bortz
 

Friday, November 04, 2016

my hypothetical friend in this election

spent not his youth
but his current teetering seniorhood
fake believer in what appears to be
an empty room for the lesser evil
star studded wallpaper as an option
(no thank you i'll keep my faux pas rather than)
essential incrementalism
too little too late
maybe rubbing shoulders
with talkers who go over my head
     as i try to throw up my verbal defenses
     usually failing
     borrowing from camus and simple rebellion
telling my friend the obvious
that this might be our last go around
     the imprint left on the trail outside
     is our only truth
     coming from our mostly honest bare feet
     making the journey to ashes or dust
     one for celebration

--- e b bortz

Tuesday, November 01, 2016

earth note 434

there's a toll road
to the whitehouse
that goes thru pennsylvania
broken upended sections of concrete
like a split in the ruling elites
(where the light slips in like leonard might say)
from the last hurricane
to the first standing rock
an fbi shuffle
is in the cards
satisfying bottomliners
both sides of a crooked aisle
keeping a lid on things
becomes an end in itself

a seed is found
& cast as a green vote
the ridge finds
a river moving

--- e b bortz