This Photo of A Dirt Road Somewhere

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            I’ve hung onto this photo for several days. I’ve been thinking about it.

            I don’t know if it was taken at twilight, or just before a gray dawn. Could be either, there are no clues.

            It was borrowed from a photographer on Tumblr. His handle is Whe-renot, in case you want to sign up and go exploring. His photos aren’t fiddled with. I appreciate his way of seeing. I do relate!

            It could be seen as frightening, with those thick bushes pushing in from either side, and the scraggly trees rising up out of the bushes. It’s tempting to make reference to the Blair Witch movie, which has generated so much imagery.

            However, I believe that to be facile. I thought about it some more. I’ve been in the bush a lot, and it was just the bush. Not scary.

            It seems like an open question. A flexible scene, like a lot of situations that occur.

            No fork in the road is visible, because it’s inherent. The fork is in the mind. A person walking that road could be in deep sorrow, and feeling that the scene reflects sorrow and fear. Or, they could be walking home, down a long rural driveway, to a lighted house, dinner, company, and rest, their quickening steps echoing cheerfully. Or, maybe it’s morning and a person is walking to meet their friend, at home, or at a camping place, or maybe to go work in some field just beyond the trees.