tears cross borders

without papers

the rainforest gives cover

without charge

a frozen lake

can hold the weight

of the world

there is no end

for the footsteps

no guide no map

your hold on the future

is only as good

as your grip today

--- e b bortz 

earth note 769

where the gunnison

flows into the colorado

where the summer heat

evaporates the life

out of grassy river beds

where cattails sprout

reeds bend to find water

these can be mighty rivers

at this junction

though sometimes

losing their way

a lost horizon

may lead to shangri-la

namaste nepal

and the dry season

shall pass

--- e b bortz

earth note 768

last of the yellow leaves

sharp against gray overcast

clouds moving west to east

pushing beyond

beaten down hills

hurry past melancholy

round tops duck for cover

looking for an early winter

--- e b bortz 

earth note 767

it started out as an early morning squawk

from a single crow

     not the usual here

gray chill covers the ridge

more crows coming

looking to find their bearings

the trees have been stripped

a bare branch becomes a brush

fallen leaves fill in the color

having lost their voices in the rain

--- e b bortz

earth note 766

albuquerque

until the sun

broke over the eastern mountains

the valley remained quiet

a misty dark

adobe houses cold as clay

a couple of bicycles panting

up the hill to the university

the neighborhood dogs

throwing out a bark

here & there

the empty lots & spaces

dry grainy brown

     indigenous

rail yards pointing west

& empty

--- e b bortz

earth note 765

inflection point

on the arc of the moon

the darkness seeping in

you are the root

just before the turning away

there's an angle for every moment

before the fade

back to original thoughts

where time is just a cloud cover

a promise of first snow

--- e b bortz

earth note 764

standing alone in the kansas wind

you don't need change in your pocket

roll with the wheat & sunflowers

the stark plains open

like a holy sea

--- e b bortz

ohio river ridge post election blue

particulates leave a bad taste in the dog park

the dogs know it even if you can't see it

the chemistry doesn't lie

downstream upwind they're hauling ass

to get the cracker plant going

no one listens to the barking

--- e b bortz

the shadow picks our campsite

oregon 2012

we went inland

from florence oregon

dog

tent

bicycles

kayaks

crammed in & over the van

the weather hot & dry

for the end of july

forest meeting rocky shore

mosquito season

pretty much petered out

we took the dirt road as far as

the mountains would let us

the dark about to set in quick

as the tent pops up

against a still pale moon

a wild wind dance

begins to speak

--- e b bortz

we made it to the dark side of the blue moon

just in time

for election day

the craters

were filled with piles

of unopened ballots

the main principals standing

with their arms folded

looking away

their smiles fixed in moon rock

moon currency bulging

from their zoot suits

moon howls

mistaken

for the wind

--- e b bortz