Vox Populi
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Joy Gaines-Friedler: Happiness
A man & woman beneath two immense elms.
A worn picnic table. She is cutting his hair.
His eyes close as he listens to her voice.
Occasionally she places a hand on his toweled shoulder.
He especially likes that. Occasionally they both laugh.
What’s between them is a mystery.
The way the leaves that flag in the wind
know to be leaves, or the tree knows to grow them.
Copyright 2021 Joy Gaines-Friedler
Joy Gaines-Friedler is a professional photographer who sees poetry as a natural extension of the photographic art: both use images, contrast, tensions, rhythm and tone. Her collections of poems include Capture Theory (Aldrich Press, 2018).
Chickadee (photo: Joy Gaines-Friedler)
Vox Populi 
Thank you Michael Simms! I took this photo of a Purple Gallinule at Green Cay in Boyton Beach Florida. They balance on thin strands of weed grass. A fine metaphor! I love the photo soooo much. I’m thrilled that it has landed in your stunning magazine.
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