recovering notes from the deep, part 11

about a dozen years after the release
of bob marley's no woman no cry
i found myself on a beach in southern thailand
on my only day off of the week
with a group of thai and farang and voices
and waves of guitar and keyboard solos

it was a time to hold your head up

speak up
the future wasn't clear
but every song had the potential
to become an anthem
and of course the whole world came to know
the music of marley & the wailers
so deeply
that you had no choice
but to look at yourself
stone sober
and act in his words
my feet is my only carriage

the teak forests of asia

were burning
the rivers flooding
the international mining interests
buying up every political hack
willing to be branded

but there was the message

of the music
and the many tears remembered
and left on that beach
and like the waves
and the ripples that still spread
the cut of the coral
will be painful
or a poverty of options
not always predictable
like an orange sunrise
touching the water
nonetheless
letting the spirit grow

--- e b bortz