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