A gentle breeze blows;
The sky is gray mixed with blue;
Voices from far off.

Pile of strewn white fluff
Lies scattered by the road side--
It once was a bird.

A silent brown flash--
White tail bounds into the woods.
Was it a mirage?

Resting on tree trunk,
Some moss adds green to the brown--
Life nourishes life.











Standing in the field:
Abandoned washing machine--
Nature's flower pot.


Where do shadows go?
Now they mark the bend in road,
Now they've disappeared.









The forest is dark
Even though it's almost noon.
The tree stump seems pleased.


"Do fresh" the words say,
Printed on discarded cup
Lying "fresh" in ditch.

Afternoon shadows
Fall lightly on road and field.
Earth takes a deep breath.

Stick mound in the field;
Willy nilly pile of limbs--
New home for creatures.








Rusty tree stands tall
Clear against surrounding green--
A soft compliment.








Bright patch of sunset
Lies glowing just off the road,
Soon will disappear.

Small trumpet flowers
Purse their white petaled lips
Waiting to be popped.








Hanging in mid air
Working its way to the sky:
A dreaded inch worm.

Strutting wild turkey;
Deer leaps softly into woods;
It is twilight time.

Cyclist rushes past
Goggles fixed, head to the road;
Could be anywhere.

Standing on two feet
Goat is sure that he's human;
Height is everything.

Shadows turn with road,
Disappear around the bend.
Wind rustles softly.











Three balls in the grass
Surrounded by green stillness
With no place to go.

Tiny blue flowers
Appear from nowhere in woods.
They seem very shy.

A lone blue flower
In a flurry of yellow--
Each defines other.

Small hole in the rock--
Dark and mysterious cave;
What creatures live there?

Patterns light and dark--
Sun dashes against the leaves;
Shadows make the woods.


Sparkle by the road;
Light trickles on the stream's back.
The two liquids join.

Green, star shaped and spiked
It stands alone by the road:
Unsociable plant.











White blob under plant;
What is this moist strange substance?
Some say fairy spit.

Thick sweet smell of spring;
Purple blooms line my driveway;
A white butterfly. Dandelion puffs
Mark the onset of summer;
A bird chirps softly.

The stream is lazy;
Water sitting in the sun;
Leaves gently blowing.

There's a stillness now,
A softness in the breezes;
Small birds chirp gently.

A patch of green light
Illuminates the forest;
Trees stand quietly.

Bright splash of yellow,
Neighbor to the giant fern
Enlivens roadside.

Buzzing round my head
Wanting something I can't give--
A God-damned deer fly.

A path of shadows
Weaves through the darkened forest
Destined for nowhere.

Pattern on the road
Left by an avian bomber
(Did not see its work).









Like a bolt of doom
Baby turtle was struck down
By unseeing car.








Perfect pointed leaves
Spread out--a star by the road--
Green geometry.

Sunlight through lilacs
Make the purple buds sparkle;
Soon smell will burst forth

Throughout the green
Little blue flowers pop up
And say "Look at me!"

Silly white puppy
Doesn't realize it's outside,
Still tries to escape.




Fairies in the woods
Stop to catch the morning light,
Turn blue with delight.

Flowering treetops
Give a bouquet to the sun
And try to kiss it.

Feather in the road
Blown back and forth by the cars
Still stuck in its place.

Everything is still;
This moment there are no sounds--
Then a lone bird sings.

Deer crossing the road
Stop, stare and then disappear.
Were they ever there?

Crisp May morning wind
Trembles the leaves and bushes;
Man bends to the grass.

Smiling at the sky
Dandelion reflects sun.
Shines right back at it.













Shadows cross the road
Weaving a web of dark shapes
Indistinctly sharp.

My battery's dead;
Camera refuses to work--
I have just my eyes.

Prancing tree shadows
Shimmy darkly on the road;
They dance to the wind.

Reared against the hill
Tree sends roots back to the bank--
Defies gravity.

Puffs float through the air--
Gray white phantoms of the day;
Some will land and grow.

Kids shout, rooster crows;
New white flowers on the tree;
Plane buzzes up high.

Flurry of color;
Endless jungle of yellow--
Forsythia is.

Bending in the wind
Small white flowers on tall stems;
Who says they are weeds?

White lilacs are first
With billowing bloom and smell;
Purple cousins wait.

Huddled together
Little blue flowers blossom
In the shady woods.


















Small green umbrellas:
Maple leaves point to the ground
Waiting for water.










White in the wildness
Tree bursts forth in the brambles
Heedless of fences.













Lush cliff in the woods
Guided softly by the trees;
Nice to take a leap.

Squished in the road--
One frog that did not make it;
Now a Rorschach test.







Lying by the road
Two empty cigarette packs:
Chain litterer.

Tip of the bare branch
Green bud begins to unfold--
Languid blossoming.

Freaked caterpillar
Frantically crosses the road;
How will he make it?

Tiny white beacons
Illuminate the forest;
They will fly away.

Tiny white flowers
Grow wild all over my lawn.
How can I cut them?

Sitting off the road
Black and white cat surveys all,
Watching whatever.

The giant mailbox
Has been through many seasons;
What news has it held?

In dandelions
Abandoned basketball lies,
Soon to disappear.








The empty stream bed
Flows barren among the trees
Promising water.











Sign says no pooping;
It pictures a shitting dog.
But what about squirrels?






Between the two trees
Gray cat sits like a statue.
Is it a statue?













Locked in an embrace
Shelf fungi cling to dead tree
Linked there forever.

Small mini white blooms
Sprinkle up throughout the woods;
Not here yesterday.

Yellow hemispheres
Perched glowing on slender stems--
Dandelions rule.

Yellow and purple
A half rainbow of flowers
Sits by the roadside.

The darkened barn door
Opens into a black void;
Is anything there?

A morning stillness;
Everything is in its place.
The barn door is dark.

Shade of the fir tree
Nourishes a bed of green--
Soft coexistence.

Crow sits on a branch
Cackling loud with pleasure:
"It's good as it gets."

Pastel orange blooms
Peek shyly from the tree limbs
Drinking in the shade.



The deep dappled woods
Play with the light and shadows
Remaining so still.

Faint smoke and shadows;
Long white line across the sky;
Lone pale butterfly.

Two rotten tree stumps
Sitting facing each other
Whispering of death.

Against the dead leaves
Dandelions go to seed;
Others still budding.

Rusted in the woods
Ancient mechanical piece--
Unwitting sculpture.



Near imprisoned woods,
Next to the no dog poop sign
Sits a home made bench.

The shy woodpecker
Quickly hides around the tree;
Known just by his sound.

Swift tiny spider
Darts zigzag across the road--
"It's unstoppable"*

*with acknowledgments to Lucy Bluestone Gilbertsen