i have a bicycle

that looks for
spiritual fulfillment
usually on
an early spring day
& somehow convinces
me to drop everything
& head down the hill
to where the river trail
still cluttered with some
concrete walls
asking messages
even of forgiveness
for the cruel way
we left
the remains
will haunt us until
written history ceases
or it's outlawed

and unlike twenty years ago
streets & bike lanes & trails
we cried for
are now the domain
of something
further than ourselves

proselytizing animals that we are

--- e b bortz

(published in opednews.com, Mar 16, 2012)