untangling the web

poetry about and photography of everyday happenings and sights

Tag Archives: Nature


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The Bluebird and the Red Truck

You dash from the fir tree

to the sideview mirror

of the big red truck by

the lake. You hover, steal

a look, then flit away,

in your excitement, 

leaving a memento of 

yourself on the door.

On and on you peek

and peck, then dash 

away to a branch.

Are you really that

vain or do you see

a potential partner, 

shying away when

she gets too close?

I wonder how long it 

will take before you

see your error, or will

it end when the fishermen

take out and load their

boats and drive away.

In that moment will

you lament the loss

of a possible love or will

you recognize that you

were seeing yourself?


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Breath of the Earth

Rolling in, rolling out,

breath of the earth,

heart of the earth.

From your depths 

life first emerged,

and in your waters

is life still unseen.

You were there

before we existed,

and you will be there

after we are gone.

Rolling in, rolling out,

breath of the earth,

heart of the earth.

Calm and peaceful,

violent and rough,

serene and flat,

white-tipped and choppy,

murky and sandy,

clear and blue.

Breath of the earth

heart of the earth.


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A Snowy Morning

The earth was hushed 

that morning and a light

snow was falling, uniting

ground and sky, the still

and the moving, brown and

white. Pine needles on the 

path were covered by snow 

highlighting an intricate 

design like a fisherman’s net 

or spider’s web, an encounter

between life and death. 

The cosmos was showing off

its artistry in twisted bare 

branches, in an ethereal

light on a skim of ice, in

things seldom observed.

Nature was sparking the

imagination with the 

magnificence of creation 

with no intention other

than to simply enchant.


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Paying Attention

On a cold morning

with thoughts scampering

in and through, words formed

and then forgotten, 

Luna and I walked

and mused, then stopped and 

paid attention. We

saw poetry on a 

twig, in frost-covered

grass, and flashing off 

a mallard’s green head.

We heard it in the

bird song, and sniffed it 

in the sharp, clean air.


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January 4, 2023

A blue jay brings a vivid flash of color to

the reedy branches of a naked bush

beside the pond. Songs of a

robin sweeten the air and

a mallard couple, he with

his emerald green head

and yellow beak, swim

from the shore barely

missing four geese who

peacefully approach. The

heads of the mallard couple

begin to pulse up and down to

their own tempo. Hissing brakes 

of a school bus assault the peace 

and Luna swishes her way amidst the 

pine needles and I wonder what she senses.


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Running Cedar

On this morning’s walk with

Luna, I see the running

cedar scampering through

the woods and stop and

pull up one strand and

then another until my

hands are full, reminding

me of the search for it

and mistletoe so many

years ago. I put it in a tub

of water to soak when

I get home and add some

holly and boxwood, and

thoughts of how to use

them float through my mind.

Now as I lie here I wonder

if I will use them with the 

creche or on the mantelpiece

or maybe on the railing.

Will there be enough?

Will I have the energy?

I really don’t know, but you

know what? It’s okay

if I don’t; I just enjoyed

finding and gathering it.