American Rust

Photography and Poetry by Laura Dill
(18.75in. x 15.63in.)

“The Declaration’s promise of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness was never guaranteed; it was always something we had to breathe back into existence, generation by generation. I found that truth on a walk in St. Augustine, the oldest city in the nation, in the most unexpected place: a rusting pinwheel on a crooked white fence.

American Rust

While walking in St. Augustine,
I was struck by a rusting patriotic pinwheel
perched on an old white picket fence
failing to contain the tiny,
overgrown yard of a small, ramshackle house
with flaking white paint.

A rocker sat on the slanting porch,
flanked by a tattered flag and
a weathered front door.
This home had clearly seen better,
and far worse days.

Nestled in the nation’s oldest city,
the house had likely flown many flags
as nations battled, won, and lost
control of the land.

I felt a kinship between this forlorn home
and the state of our country, and
I wondered when it had fallen
into such disrepair.

I puffed my cheeks and blew.
The pinwheel sprang to life,
stars and stripes spinning proudly
once again with the force of my breath,
and I was filled with hope.

©Laura Dill May 31, 2026, All Rights Reserved
Photography published in Women Writing for (a) Change Anthology, (a) River Rising: Vol. VI, Metamorphosis Edition, Dec 2024. Poem adapted from the artist’s statement.“

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