uni-polar bi-polar multi-polar

these are just words

the real world is where it's at

orbiting and then splitting apart

a converted factory bomb shelter

bitcoin shitcoin petrodollar

fill your lawn mower again before

& after the ground hog scramble

that hole in the ground might just save you

follow the river 'til you get to the fork

then take it

then there will be a forest path and another fork

take that one too

you don't need a gps to find your way home

remember all the forks that got you here

uni-polar bi-polar multi-polar

     my ass

--- e b bortz

east fork san juan river morning

the river crackles gurgles

breath looks like steam

even in june

we will water up

in pagosa springs

watch the kids slip through the boulders

on inner tubes

there will be plenty of heat

by afternoon

the road to chimney rock

is not a straight line

but a sacred squash blossom

that may have touched you

--- e b bortz

earth note 860

you need to wait

for the perfect light

when it hits spider lake

it will be blue

a wall of white birch

standing reflecting

with scaly bark tamarack

homeland wetland

always calling

--- e b bortz

pre-inversion bicycling notes

(photo by Eric Bortz)

head of the ohio river trail

there's a clearing going north

some would call west

or even a twist south

as the crow flies

but if you stick to the river

you won't get lost

unless the daydreams

overwhelm what came before them

over the next month the droplets

will gather by the river edges

silt and sumac will become

the dominant shoulders

your eyebrows may drip a ring

around your neck

but the trail will go on

aboriginal mounds 

     rising

--- e b bortz

     

earth note 859

chimney swifts make it to the end

of the overcast

just before the rains hit

fast and clever

for a sunday morning

blue jays have taken the flight home

robins still combing the grass for worms

humans have a big cleanup

dahn at the river

     concert's over

--- e b bortz

i always felt like we were about to go into hiding

even with a million peace marchers

in washington

     moratorium day 1969

just after

ten thousand in the streets of chicago

hot august 1968

scrambling our bodies in front of the police

and national guard

their columns     clubs     bayonets

forcing our retreat

     jimmy was wise beyond his years

into the darkness of grant park

tear gas sweat clinging

     dripping down through jesus sandals

     hearts and minds

--- e b bortz 

earth note 858

i'm not sure where bigfork northern minnesota

begins or ends 

maybe best to leave it as a mystery

after all it's just a typical dot on the map

penned by some land grabber

stolen from the original

as in the indigenous

people of bigfork

never consulted

but in fact 

should be revered

with full deed of ownership or stewardship

beginning with

water     naming      and rice rights

somewhere near the junction

of a scenic highway

& a thousand lakes

and don't forget that dot

of course you know

the whole country

flows out of bigfork

--- e b bortz

i hide in the river fog

waiting

for a sign

the trees stand motionless

against end of the week traffic

rushing on

there's a taste of spring rolls

that linger

i'll keep a watch

in a new day

clearing

--- e b bortz

earth note 857

mourning doves speak in alto

before exchanging space on the wires

sunlight breaks through the clouds

making big moves before the rain

everyone checks the sidewalk for cracks

& new editions

if there are shadows

the words may have slipped past an empty stanza

fine print is often

left behind

books are seldom read to the end

poems are never finished

--- e b bortz