earth note 600

itasca county minnesota

a few miles up the road

from town
in the middle of a rock pile
and broken glass
someone thinks they have a bead
on bob dylan's dream
even if they never cleaned
creosote out of a wood stove
or saw the inside
of a log-built sauna

there are crappies chasing

shadows they thought
were dragon flies
the great blue heron
takes a final swoop
before the summer thunderstorm
and even out on spider lake
white birch bark becomes your parchment
taking on a whole new meaning

of what it means to write a story

in the middle of a memory
in the middle of a rock pile

--- e b bortz