earth note 670

many words have crossed my desk

only to be forgotten

when the dark fades out like a holy light

not light at the end of the tunnel

but light where you never expect it

past the dark canopy of spring buds

past the eventual sunrise always promised

long past childhood memories

leaving only prickly empty shells

     like walnuts after the winter

--- e b bortz

earth note 669

key west

circle k busy as usual at 7am

a hot one to look forward to

sandy concocts her own crazy mocha mix

too sweet for me

give it to me raw

but don't get rough

be like the ibis gleaning

picking around

the parking spaces

we pitch in a few bucks

for three young travelers & a dog

needing gas

trying to keep it low key

out of sight

from the police & managers

so far

the beaches are still something

of a free zone

mark your spot

put your line in the sand

--- e b bortz

recovering notes from the deep, part 20

1963

when you're fifteen you remember

the feeling

not necessarily the substance

of a quarter-million people

     a rolling sea of justice

in the middle of the heat

of washington d c august 28 1963

in a crowd of black and white

showing the world

how to walk straight

interlock arms and shoulders

     sing

"woke up this morning with my mind

     set on freedom"

my dad and his comrade jim

vanguard proud

jim emoting spirit and voice

of paul robeson

lorraine hansberry

claudia jones

way way beyond

my adolescent consciousness

for me it was

just dylan and joan baez

dylan singing

only a pawn in their game

like seeing way into the future

where every voice

might move

a mountain

--- e b bortz

earth note 668

inching toward spring

cold and dry

ferns beginning to poke up

they know when to open their eyes

the trail below the ridge top

worn by deer      wild turkeys

to trace every path

long before humans

the buds aren't quite ready

they line the river

quiet anticipation

the sky begins
to dodge thru shadows

where sparrows dance

--- e b bortz

apolitical is not the opposite of overtly political

but of course there are those that say

apolitical is a misnomer to begin with

since there is an objective reality

     somewhere

     (a place for us)

where everything

has a political connotation

     even (especially)

     a blank piece of paper

          a true manifesto without limits

nothing is broken

     but everything is broken

stop playing with yourself

     jingling bitcoins in your pocket

there's no such thing as apathy

put your money where your mouth is

     or at least

where the sun doesn't shine

--- e b bortz

earth note 667

let this one start

before the forest fires

of indonesia

swallow the great ocean

words are more than language

every character a line in the sand

every sunrise

a new alignment

we are only as strong

as sounds

rolling quietly

off the tongue

there are no moments

to sacrifice

fill your rucksack

carry water for your neighbor

--- e b bortz

headphones

on the internet

and a damn good cover band & fiddle

& come home bob tee-shirt

from minnesota

playing absolutely sweet marie

just as it gets

"to live outside the law you must be honest"

my unsmart phone goes off "unavailable"

as the junk mail flies thru the slot

& the dog starts barking

at the road crew out the window

and i'm not sure

but the dog might need to pee

so we'll head out

to the well trodden frozen path

on a road most traveled

with a song

--- e b bortz

earth note 666

it's been something

of a convoluted journey

that got me to

earth note 666

'cross most every state

and a few continents

from the heat of the equator

to the wild deep cold of the north woods

so there's no apprehension here

i'll stand on it for a moment

take in a full 360 degree inhale

from the horizon

and then move on

but there is an odd backstory here

since some bureaucrats

decided in 2003 to change

the u.s. highway number 666

to 491 for reasons as murky

as the colorado river in moab

and wouldn't you know

totally unbeknownst to us

the camping trip that took us

to a monticello utah aspen forest

rolled right up 491 (old 666)

but we totally missed that

     revelation

though maybe the wind turbines on the hills

     never tilting

was enough of a sign that

a number is just a number

though self-censorship might end up

getting you lost

in more ways than one

--- e b bortz

earth note 665

smathers beach, key west

an open cabana

has a way of drawing you in

to a struggling colony of fire ants

manic about their own survival

you learn quickly

how to dodge and run

we escape with an umbrella

for the wide open sands

cloudless sky

beneath blue heaven

on the far side

a natural coral breakwater

let the world be at peace

     oh-mmm

--- e b bortz

earth note 664

a hot afternoon

finding a reprieve

& laptop charging station

at the key west library

a wing under renovation

     crowded everywhere else

though still functional

     friendly

insights from a local poet

explaining the details

of the monthly poetry reading

maybe a little cliquish

but who cares

a poet should

have enough confidence

to barge thru any door

take down any symbol

or conventional assumption

'cause the world doesn't turn

on the whims

of safe discourse

there will always be danger

when you live in the margins

where there are no notes

where the blank space

sets you free

--- e b bortz