earth note 289

as coal cars roll
over the railroad bridge
river below
limps
dodges
always wondering
if the destination
is worth the pain

--- e b bortz

earth note 288

a morning chill
can be the wakeup
you've been waiting for

it's not enough to say

the heat's been broken

a new kind of day

can barge right in
when least expected

wild green brush

now a wave
deliberates downwind

broken edges of the sidewalk

become a blur

an orange cat
sits pensive
     suddenly scrambles

a moment is hard to measure

--- e b bortz

 

earth note 287

pittsburgh

schenley park has been overthrown
by urban cosmopolitan society
     new soccer fields
     all-weather track
it motors on with
bmw & the impatience
of another bureaucratic job
euphemistically dressed
in a snotty
health industry blazer

for every hiker

there are four joggers
with headsets

since the last i wrote about this
the cyclone fence has been replaced
the tennis courts resurfaced

yet the squirrels

are gone
running for the thicket

i follow

--- e b bortz

 

in this moment

the most meaningful
     action
is to trade places
with the most vulnerable
become the parent
of a lynched teenager
become a so-called collateral damage
     a child in gaza
become a disruptor
of the propaganda mill
ignore pundits
expect ostracism
close your eye for an eye
past the walls & borders
     open a hand
     reach out
     past the wire

--- e b bortz

(published in opednews.com, July 12, 2014)
 

camus still cuts the grass

pittsburgh

a couple of barren rooms

look out on friendship avenue
the windows are drape-less
on the second floor
leaving the woodwork
exposed
open to view

creative minds

it would seem
clashed within these interiors
a house of painters or potters
even poets

the empty walls

stand together
visible only
by dim reflection
     of years gone

--- e b bortz