untangling the web

poetry about and photography of everyday happenings and sights

Category Archives: Nature


by 1 Comment

Streaming Ribbons of Thoughts

Periwinkle on the side of the road

elicits childhood memories.

Family hikes on Lewis Mountain,

walking like Native Americans,

heel toe, heel toe.

Fairies hidden under rocks

and in the roots of ancient trees.

Mounds of leaves to jump in

and tall bonfires with smoke

winding through the neighborhood,

marshmallows toasting on sticks.

Bicycle rides from the top

of the street to the bottom,

all with no hands, such

a feeling of freedom!


by 3 Comments

Perceptions

Seeming like a blanket of white

flowers, it is

a field of pale

purple splendor,

seen only when I bend down and

look closely. Each

beauty has six

petals around

a yellow center, threadlike

lines splitting each.

So delicate,

so exquisite.

Perhaps if we took the time to

really see those

we pass, we would

glimpse their beauty.

For this I know, there is a light,

an essence, a

center in each

of us, just as

there is a center in each of

those lavender

beauties waiting

to be noticed.


by 2 Comments

Eating Mindfully

Have you ever eaten

a blackberry mindfully?

Or a blueberry or strawberry?

Close your eyes, take one bite

and your taste buds will

explode with delight.

Savor the sweet, sour taste,

roll the berry with your tongue,

feel its texture, its shape.

Grind the seeds with your teeth.

Let it stay in your mouth

as long as you can,

cherishing each sensation.


by 5 Comments

The Tree

You are the tree that draws me

Each time I visit this place of retreat.

I see in your broken limbs

The challenges you have faced.

I see the wounds that have healed

So you can grow.

I see twisted branches formed as

You traveled on your crooked journey

To wholeness.

I see your branches spread out wide

As far as they can go,

Open with wisdom and compassion to

Enfold those who lean against your trunk.

I thank you for being my anchor each time.


by 3 Comments

While I Work

While I work,

she softly sleeps

on the tan couch,

head on its arm,

paws touching,

a parcel of

brown and white,

curled in a ball of warmth.

 

I wonder what she is dreaming.

Is she sniffing her way around the pond,

testing the thin ice on its edge,

pausing to smell a cedar tree,

jumping when a heron takes flight?

Or is she in the dog park

cautiously greeting other dogs,

racing around the perimeter,

stopping occasionally to

make sure I am still there?

 

What a comfort to know that

when I move,

she will open her hazel eyes

and track my every step,

waiting to see

if it is time to follow.

What more could the world offer

at this moment, this very moment?


by 3 Comments

Early Sunday Morning

Striding ahead on Pine Trail

in Powhatan State Park,

energized by cooler air,

I almost trip and fall,

and am reminded that

I might be missing that

for which I have come,

so Luna and I

stop, look, and listen.

 

A canopy of trees overhead

keeps us almost dry

as the gentle rain hits

leaves far above

and plops on those below.

 

I see wet and glistening

Sassafras, and

shy, striped Wintergreen,

soft green moss,

and a path strewn

with rusty pine needles.

 

I hear birds chattering

to their neighbors

and squirrels foraging.

Only a distant plane

interrupts the peace

that comes to those

walking in the woods.

 

Who could ask for more?

Right here, right now,

I have everything I need.


by 2 Comments

Mr. Bluebird

Fiercely protective of

his territory and brood,

a male bluebird pecks on

a downstairs window,

attacking the enemy.

 

He flies up and

begins anew on

an upstairs window,

seeing the image only

as one who will do him harm.

 

Even though we understand

the mystery of a reflection,

we are much like this bluebird,

unable to see who

the real enemy is.

 

As Pogo said, “We have

met the enemy and

he is us.”