Summer Is…
A Season in Farlow Park
Dedication
To those who love the park:
The early morning joggers,
the afternoon strollers,
The evening ramblers,
the any-time dog walkers,
To the children who play,
and their parents who chat,
To the elders who rest,
and to all who dream,
This book celebrates what a park
can bring to a community.
It reminds us of our essential connection
to the natural world
And offers us opportunities
to engage with one another
In the spirit of appreciation
and friendship.
Summer is . . .
When the park swells green
and neighbors reconnect
on common ground
Benches invite contemplation.
Festivals of sun and shadow
Become dialogues of pattern
Distinct, undeterred.
The pond
The park
Together…a benediction
Summer is an embrace;
An affirmation of belonging
Summer brings anticipation
And summons stillness
A century of conversations buried
in constellations of clover
Whose bones are these?
Summer offers the opportunity
For solitude in a public place
While a welcome breeze
Skims the water
Shape shifting the reflections
Into a treasury of beauty
Summer tracks all trespassers
Reunites leaves with trees;
Grass with ground
And friends with one another
in casual passing
Summer enables the present
To create the future
And in consistent return
Summer affirms place matters
And this is ours.