october spoke today like i hadn't really been paying attention

1.  in high school
that would have meant
that the hallways
still had that cleaned up
pine-sol smell
i would have already
dug-in with my teachers
     our uncompromising positions
for better or worse

the band room still had
a shiny floor
i swear it was hardwood
even though the rest
of oliver high remained
scuffed-up tiles and peeling paint
especially in the basement
where the dislocated students
from a burned-down
elementary school
shuffled through
their dark hallways

2.  i've never bought in
to the idea
of a mid-life crisis
october decided to deal
a hand one card short
of a straight flush
     hearts no less

i guess i did leave
a forwarding address
when i left tel-aviv
then ignoring a letter
received months later
     memory tells me it was typed
but i could be wrong on that
　

3.  the physical world
of october
is more than leaves
nothing accounts for
what you can't see
other than the stir
of those random
embers or chills
     within
     yet beyond

--- e b bortz