The green bottle I began to dislodge
then stopped, seeing an ant colony
erected in its sphere, so left them to
their toil, wondering if they see the glass
as just another object from the sky,
and considered how maybe they are right
or, how reckless divinities might, perhaps,
prowl earth and sky and, like curious
meddlesome children, marvel at the strange
uses we make of their wreckage, their genius.
Stuart Bartow teaches writing and literature at SUNY Adirondack, where he directs the school’s Writers Project. His latest book, Teaching Trout to Talk: The Zen of Small Stream Fly Fishing, published by RA Press, is due out soon. He is also chair of the Battenkill Conservancy, a grassroots environmental group.
Image: “Rocks (Edited) #2” by Destinee Dearbeck
Pine Hills Review 