earth note 568

if the sunshine holds up today
i wanna walk the riverfront trail
     if it's passable
drying out from the flooding
leaving scraps of wood & plastic
strewn along the banks
the geese no doubt
will have something to say
about all of this

--- e b bortz

earth note 567

a cardinal takes the highest roost

on the power line
just east of the pole insulators
(industrial gray for a gray morning)

low-light hue covers the wings

     takes flight
     no time for cameras or tourists

--- e b bortz

earth note 566

 

three pinus strobus

haudenosaunee tree of peace

planted seven years ago
     clustered
     fused together
     like a family
     in a nor'easter
standing up twenty feet
by twenty feet wide
holding the hillside
in a cold rain
     steady

--- e b bortz

long after the bonna cross-country skis

left the farmhouse in minnesota
that would be close to forty years now
i still held on to the green and blue wax

(without any need for the red klister

if memory serves me right)

something comforting in having

the green and blue close to me

you just never know when there'll

be a need again

bonna is still all over ebay

as vintage from norway
'cause back then
the oily american corporate machines
had no use for anything unmotorized

but of course they've adapted

like an LL bean
wrapping themselves
in a rustic chalet mansion

some things you just can't fake though

like a wax with an experienced hand
or olympic gold
from norway

--- e b bortz

earth note 565

wetlands leave a shadow

there's a loving hand
in the grass
but it takes patience
an open wing
and then commitment

--- e b bortz

violence eats the body politic from the inside out

like every young body
already knows this
reacting from the shock
as all eyes
look over their shoulders
change will begin
     when you start
     melting down the assault steel
students learn and lead
from their generational destiny
sacrifices paid by many thousands
in blood
economic conscription
unending wars

the bought & paid for mouths have no place to run

     not even the poets
the political flim-flam is up
for the tongues
mealy-mouthed and forked by social conditioning
built from 3d printers 
spitting out continuous fabrications
of empire personified
in cowboy garb
& winchester strapped saddles
     (free the mustangs)

the gig is up

when a generation takes to the streets
shuts down every schoolhouse
finds their voice
from sea to shining sea
gives up on the gray hairs
     let them rationalize
     their own so-called-free-market excuses

just walk away in a song

a dream
and no compromise

--- e b bortz

earth note 564

peter paul & mary

lift the fog
to find
a thaw in the air
mary brings a red hat

you think you understand

the web of life
how deep is it
whose reflection
is that

--- e b bortz

earth note 563

this may look like a debate
but it's not
my skin has that uncompromising
ancient look to it
we found water just past
those western arches
the ones the tourists
like to photograph
we tried hiding there
but they're damn persistent
you shoulda seen the entry gate
this morning
cars backed up a half-mile
but at least they're getting better
at cleaning up their garbage
on the way out

step lightly & peace be with you

--- e b bortz

earth note 562

black canyon of the gunnison

her hand opens

like an offering
from a cold rock
peace emerges
in a multitude of forms
even the river
speaks from the altar

--- e b bortz

i'm still lookin for the poems i lost

out on the frozen swamps & prairies
of northern minnesota
the red rock & scrap rock mountains
near swan lake
underneath the abandoned clunkers & tractors
ice fishing shacks & saunas
or inside the rhythm & meter of a flapping pole barn
the hay needn't rise anymore like it use to
     i understand that
but i'll look hard at the ground around
and try and find a seed or two
this isn't just another exercise in nostalgia
but a real effort this time
to make amends
and find
a missing root

--- e b bortz

earth note 561

ohio river

inhaling snowflakes

like a last gasp
just before
touching the water
     dark water
     dark morning

--- e b bortz