billy clubs michigan avenue chicago police/national guard riot 1968

had that weathered look
like a hard oak or mahogany
marks like notches
wielding sweeping wild
circular motions
floodlights and shimmering bayonets
armored legion columns
like orders being followed
clubs ramming ribs
all the way through to the insides
we finally ripped away our shrouds
and kissed desperate
in a cloud of tear gas
like lovers before the gallows

we tried walking

not running
hands clasping tightly
left only with dignity
eyes wide open
a tactical retreat
deep into the dark of grant park

the police streamed through

grabbing stray bodies
like lost deer from a herd
wrapping up and dragging their bounty
into trucks and busses

convention delegates

looked on from the other side
of michigan avenue
hiding in their hotel
some cried
all were witnesses

the nights rolled into days

we lost & found each other
many times
our lips stayed true
as our new skin

--- e b bortz

earth note 610

it takes a deluge

near the equator
to cleanse the body

no one can hide

in a pinhole
out on the open water

my reflection

in the wake
brings up grit & blemishes

before every sunrise

the piper demands payment
there's a price for ambivalence

--- e b bortz

earth note 609

the river rises

and leaves behind
driftwood
stripped
of all protection
knotty elbows & kneecaps
like a tai chi puzzle
stretch
extend
homeward

--- e b bortz

one of those online ads

said
submit your best poems
and then take a break
have a thousand cups of coffee
and we'll get back to ya
we have all these professionals
sitting around waiting to evaluate
     even you
we'll even give you some pointers
vouch for your credentials
on your next graduate school application
give you the agent-inside-track on the
poetry-biz
there's a lot more to this
then meets the eye

we lead the industry

in contact lenses down the toilet

don't get yourself in a tizzy

about mixed metaphors and verb tense
don't worry about running out of time
we can help you with your next draft
every career has its downtime
maybe you've hit bottom before
and since you've stumbled on to our ad
maybe you should just take this
     as a sign

--- e b bortz

earth note 608

the search begins

by looking under every leaf
     yes
this is a lifetime

in every allegory

there will be a lesson
     no
the answers are not easy to find

the rain often breaks

the membrane
     yes
the body often carries a message

if there's a third eye

will that guarantee vision
     no
there will always be another leaf

--- e b bortz

earth note 607

i'm still learning

to claw my way
up through the ash & maple
above the trail
below the bus shelter
the hill feels like it's falling
from the sky
and all its undergarments
white fluff and then metal gray
the leaves weep
looking for a way out to the avenue
the daylight will only take you so far

after that

you'll need to get down on all fours
the ground is shifting

--- e b bortz

by the time we got to norwood colorado

we were feeling separation anxiety
     from the black canyon of the gunnison
a rock wall can warm the body organs
bring it back to life
when all else is cold

the messages are all there

if the eyes let you in
when the bees insist on their turf
there are no tourists
or spectators

--- e b bortz

earth note 606

a sidewalk that closes

can't be rolled up

if you want to learn to fly

follow the pelican

as an alternative

find a trail
without a name

--- e b bortz
 

earth note 605

sunset august
minnesota itasca county road 8
leads you west toward the scenic highway
mapping it all out in my mind
     if you keep a bicycle rolling
     the mosquitos will become frustrated
     they'll tell you that much in their wings

there'll be some small lakes

if you're lucky
     a soaring blue heron
loons
& geese
crappies jumping
a-frames aging

it's hard to let the summer go

guess you could say
this is somewhat of a rehearsal
take the blue with the clouds
while you got 'em

touch every bit of the light

--- e b bortz

earth note 604

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a deer run will only take you so far

after that it's all the sweat of your brow
or the odd or lucky conjugation
of a made-up verb
that'll bring you to the finish line
this being near the convergence
of the oliver high school cross country course
     1962-1966
which i never mustered
therefore can't brag about

by the time i reached sixteen

and could coax my dad into letting
me have the car for the night
riverview park wasn't for running
but for making out

and now

who knew it would come to this
a captured thought
in a morning downpour
walking not running
a million steps gone missing
     still looking to liberate
     a verb

--- e b bortz

i'm not gonna swallow the bitter pill

as long as i can rage from within
there's a month of sundays difference
between what passes for truth
and whose shoe really touches the road
a long distance friend once told me
to leave well enough alone
find out where the squirrel hides the nuts
leave the rest or the nest to the robins
when you hear the voice of the cicada
many years will have passed

--- e b bortz