earth note 512

woodland park / pike national forest

as the temperature drops tonight
the flies from the pit toilets
might just consider hibernation
     alright
maybe hibernation isn't 
in their genes
but hiding out might work
     for us anyway

on & off rain 
kept memorial park
kinda quiet
it's usually busy
during the day
dog walkers and 
pickup basketball games
and fully packed for
the farmers' market on fridays

from the library windows
you can see the high rockies
to the west
the smaller     rounder     older
green hills in the foreground
the buzz of dusty pickup trucks
along the two-lane going north
crazier yet on the city avenue
& in the strip malls

there's even an old inn
crying out for an open mic
where musicians and maybe
     poets
can lose themselves
in the moment
like generations before
doing the hard travelin
just after the gold rush
went bust

--- e b bortz