earth note 471...history in short form

it's too late
to wave a protest sign
in front of george washington
but not too late
to plant three cherry trees
that won't be cut down
     damn-it
in the back on the ridge
before the cliff drops off
to the neighborhood
josh gibson struggled to live in
locked out of the big leagues
because he was black
and george washington
made up a thousand excuses
for slavery

a couple miles from here

george washington camped
near the river
claiming the water as his own
wanting an outpost
with dreams of an empire
the original people
shot down
or driven out of the valley
believe it      it happened
and it's still going on

so what about the cherry trees

they've been dwarfed from a hybrid
small but strong
in body and spirit
     where there's fruit
there's hope

--- e b bortz

 

earth note 470

the shadow from the utility pole
cuts through the avenue
before high noon

someday there's going to be a faceoff

between the yellow lines
and the rumors of a speed trap

that's simply propaganda

from the mayor's office
or the district attorney posing

--- e b bortz

earth note 469

a grey morning
has more than one meaning
what looks like gathering mist
could be sweat
from the hills
tears
of a forest

--- e b bortz

earth note 468

the maple i've been watching for years
sprung the brightest green leaves today

that's the only news that counts

--- e b bortz

recovering notes from the deep, part 9

i should say their surnames
before i forget them
more than fifty years have passed
     but i'll say them to myself
since i'd like to stay away
from phone calls in the middle of the night
and lawsuits

before there were murals in the neighborhood

there were empty walls and vacant lots
and we'd chalk a rectangle on the wall
for a strike zone
for a hard pitched
tennis ball
and a batter
for a pickup game
and the mystique
of a ted kluszewski at bat
in the bottom of the ninth
the pirates with bases loaded
and mostly no hope
of winning

columbia place was an alley

     row houses
and soot on the window sills
and your voice carried
even when there was
no harmony

about the time

someone became sixteen
and got their hands
on the family car
the drive-ins just weren't
     enough
of an escape
from the smoke stacks
war dead 
& nightly news

there was always ripple wine

or thunderbird
to get you sick
i'm a lucky one with a low tolerance
learning my lessons
     early
in the shadows
of the west view park roller coaster
(long gone)

for an under-achiever

high school was more like
putting in time
occasionally finding a book
that moved you
     & a couple of english teachers
who refused to force feed you
     the script

when i started taking the streetcar

from the northside to the leafy east end
more than one
would ask me
why
why are you deserting
     us
     aren't we good enough

--- e b bortz

 

it would seem

that a rising jesus
was the catcher in the sky
of a medium range ballistic missile
off the coast of the
democratic people's republic of korea
this easter morning

--- e b bortz

earth note 467

the dirt road
into the national forest
out of durango
hangs in the air
suspended by sheer
updrafts from the valley

mountains can't shake

the haze or purple veneer
from the west
balancing along the ridge
unspoken
but not unheard

--- e b bortz

 

earth note 466

a squirrel and a robin
decided to perch themselves
on the same bare mulberry tree
     no this is not a riddle
strong spring sun
brings their bodies
into focus
branches silhouette
the finest of detail
small buds shaking gently
as each traverse
and then move on

--- e b bortz

earth note 465

where the rivers meet

patch blue sky

air currents
finally warm enough
to keep a couple hawks
aloft & soaring above parking lots

traffic growl rising

like static notes
trying to bring you down

--- e b bortz

earth note 464

chimney rock, colorado

when the jewelry maker

told her story
her voice quivered slightly
the air was dry and acoustic
her notes crossed the landscape
in brown shadows
opening up
a squash blossom

--- e b bortz