I turned onto the exit ramp for my house
and slowed to 25 mph. That’s what the sign
says. Many people take this ramp much faster.
At the turn back to the road two ducks/geese were
sitting in the gravel. Like they were nesting. The ducks
coloring was so near to the gravel I almost missed them.
I wasn’t close to hitting them, but I was close enough to see
them clearly. Wow, I thought, you two are in a bad place.
Is it because you’re confused, tired on your journey
across the clouds, lost your duckling friends, gave up?
A few weeks ago I was at a grocery store downtown and
there was a woman sitting on the floor with a mass of
plastic bags about her and she looked to be in a bad place.
I though much the same of her seemingly situation as I did
the ducks. Of course in people terms. Then just yesterday I
was going into the local grocers and a man was sitting, just
like the woman had been, with plastic bags all around him.
He too, looked to be in a bad place. I was close enough to
see him-but I looked away. I didn’t look away from the ducks.
This bothers me.
