earth note 825

autumn slipped onto the high desert

     incognito

unlike the east

clusters of dry leaves

hear the call

& gather for rituals

mountain rain

to wash the aspens

--- e b bortz

earth note 824

the pueblo rise

in the body of the ponderosa

straight without faltering

the runners will make a trail

before the next sunrise

these are new times

taken from the old

the sky has opened

but it may not last

you've been given a turn at the water

speak of it as a prayer

and then pass it on

--- e b bortz 

earth note 823

slapping a notepad

into the palm of my hand

brings the dog running

his eyes saying what's up

got something to say

no just thinking what

the two austrian pines next door

growing up together

had in mind forming

a heart at their upper reaches

wondering what congress

has in mind scuttling the real news

forest fires not giving up

where there's smoke

there's chemical poison & cover-up

and the flooding is never over

except of course

where the water is needed

still remember what lake powell

looked like before the drought

the virus finds new accomplices

medical staff soldiers on to capacity

teachers teach on

the apocalypse list

grows in the dark

the dog kicks up dust

barking at the gecko

rain coming over the mountain

looks like a race to the rio

thousands of hands reach for the overpass

--- e b bortz

earth note 822

for every stone pony

there's a petrified stump

up against a cyclone fence

stamped out before

the humming birds

start hovering

vultures bringing home the leftovers

everywhere there's chaos

serving up the politicos

meat & potatoes

we've all seen this show before

i'll raise my pen

for the vanquished

in hopes that the forests

in tomorrow's millennia

will have a place

to leave their souls

--- e b bortz

earth note 821

i will bring my atonement

to the mountains

where it will never

be believed

the rock will never budge

the sun will beat

every new shadow

until i acknowledge it

there will be no witnesses

the wind will take my breath away

and i will wait for the winter rains

--- e b bortz

earth note 820

the rio grande bicycle trail

has a vanishing point

the river might be murky here

but eventually the sun will show you grace

never quite sure when everything will change

and the thistle will make you bleed

the city encroaches

the rims are cloudy & coughing

freeways snarl through

concrete makes a hard heart

rest assured the wild

will have its own designs

--- e b bortz

earth note 819

the hollow spoke

in a broken voice

where maples creak

& the ridge has shifted

summer ends

check your shoes

all you have left is one foot

in front of the other

     breathe

like the north wind

brings you home

--- e b bortz

smoke jumpers

1.

fighting off another wind shift

another fire line

     in blood

coughing thru

the mountains west

gray haze running

toward the abyss

geese heading south

     early

their wings

in rhythm

2.

at the fire watch look-out

there was a fading notepad

of greasy thumb prints

words ringing out

through an hourglass

like every lonely day

of heat and the sacred

water hauling from the creek

there were humming birds

in early morning light

and coyote howls

by night

3.

indelible branding left

on the ponderosa

the pinyon

and especially the aspen

a forest stripped back bare

a hundred years growth

     gone to carbon

just for the touch of a million dollar house

--- e b bortz

loaves & fishes

a coffeehouse in the 60s

hidden away on bellefonte street pittsburgh

the room overflowing without notice

guitars picking through every polemic

a (pawn) chess piece sliding across the floor

a meeting of antiwar artwork without deferments

scattering in the night like four corners (plus one)

     of a pentagon

soldiers hanging on by sheer conscience

all leaves canceled at midnight

this outreach project years in the making

had john the baptist written all over it

--- e b bortz