untangling the web

poetry about and photography of everyday happenings and sights


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One Solitary Puff

One solitary puff of white

against a pure blue sky

appeared on a day when 

nostalgia grabbed me while

driving along the James

River where I used to 

stroll. With windows open

so I could hear the water, 

I drove past the Z-dam

which used to enthrall

my grandchildren and 

by the river rocks which

were so often filled with 

the young who joyfully

offered their bodies to 

the sun. Memories of

bygone years when I

lived a stone’s throw

away inundated my

thoughts. And yet those

years are barely a 

blink in the vastness

of time just as that

small cloud is lost in the

limitlessness of the sky.


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A Small Patch of Green

A small patch of green

in a reflection mostly

of dead leaves and clouds

reminds us that there

will come a time when

change is in the air and

new growth bursts forth.

While people are hungry

and aid has been squashed,

billionaires’ wealth increases.

While some no longer have jobs

a garish addition is added to

the People’s house without

their permission. When citizens’

health care is at stake, politicians

shut down the government.

To survive, we must hold on to

that small patch of green 

hope. We must hold on. 

(Photo taken by me on a walk around a nearby pond)


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A Trip to Goodwill

the sweet-voiced young 

man, cap on backwards, 

body covered in tattoos, 

came to the car, carried

in my donation. when I

told him I liked his tats, 

he smiled and revealed

they told a story, his

story. a superhero on his 

calf and a baby angel on his 

biceps. first letters of his 

brothers and sisters and 

nieces and nephews on 

his knuckles and more 

stories on his neck. 

the ankle monitor told 

another tale, but I didn’t

inquire. we all have stories 

that make us who we are. 

some we share and some 

we do not. before I left, 

he said “I appreciate you.” 

as I drove off, I sent an 

appeal to the universe that 

the remainder of his story 

be as sweet as his voice.