i offer no excuses

or truths
we are vulnerable
     humans that is
to the glitter
& status extraordinaire
of dominant specie-ism
rationalizing dog-eat-dog
     a rabid misnomer
to career seeking
banking with a smile
payday loan-sharking
     shark misnomer

the district attorney stands

without clothes
but with his gun still cocked

so what will we do with our lives
before and after
     the great fall

we've never learned

to take care
of each other

--- e b bortz

no polemic

it's been one-half century
since the real streets
of hearts & minds
found each other

egos falling 

to the drama kings
provocateurs
coming and going

empty chants

making it
holier than thou
tuning out still an option 

a drum

even without rhythm
could become
an unexpected insight

anticipation

began at dawn
darkness
caressed unconditionally

--- e b bortz

 

if you look long enough on big torch key

there might be an escape route
back from the mundane
that will reveal itself
maybe hidden just before the water
or right behind a misplaced road sign

it won't look like much

just a few well worn hoof or foot prints
like an old newspaper
before times new roman
took over the world 

--- e b bortz

first draft: life is a sea

conclusions from first contact with key west
& surrounding navigational maps
7305 days ago

you always need a safe harbor

or at least a cluster of mangroves

when coral becomes dead rock

rock becomes a road of trepidation
don't go barefooted

osprey see

far into the future

every pelican has the poise to lead

elect some to congress

from the barracuda

comes tenacity
from the sandpiper
     community

find the patience

of a jellyfish
waiting for a rising tide

waves connect all beings

from the gulf of thailand to the mediterranean
from the source waters of kilimanjaro

a cajun band at the green parrot

was about as close as i got to mardi gras
     and then you danced like it was mardi gras

a sunset shadow
becomes a celebration
of sunrise

every storm seeks an eye

a tear is stronger than a poem

life is a sea
there is no final draft

--- e b bortz

iron ore strike update

near thanksgiving 1977
the strike ended
we went back to work
the layer of taconite dust
still in place
where we had left it in august

the machines started up

with reluctance

bodies moved across the grate

up steel steps & ladders
finding nothing mystical
in the grit
true or otherwise

sulfur exhaust

the chemistry
of the damned

concentrators

& combustion chambers
moving without emotion
firing thru the seasons

every ton

a landscape paid for
lungs without resilience
even thunder
turning away

--- e b bortz

the politics of collapse

can't be bailed out
by wall street

a dry river

leaves a bad taste
in your mouth

for every carbon artery

there are a thousand
hemorrhaging forests

the crows

will not be silenced
they gather for the darkness

corn rows

left their calling cards
the silos all are empty

the money

of the desperate
has no collateral

there are sunspots

to pull you closer
call it void if you must

--- e b bortz

 

ambivalence

isn't the best word
to begin with
it has way too many
misleading ways
but the election is over
and the roosters came home
a long time ago
when very few
were paying attention
     don't look for a way forward
     here
all anyone can do
is feel what moves inside
and then
feel it again

find a tributary and let it touch you

before it dries up
shut off the noise
     sing while you still have a voice

--- e b bortz

(published in opednews.com, Nov 8, 2014)