I knew I needed out
So I walked towards the pizza place not wanting pizza
Wanting only the pound of foot on pavement
Ran into the neighbor who will vote a different way
Thought there was no nature near us
But here in the park I found what I was looking for
Leave the ears unplugged with busy music
Leave them open to snippets of conversation around you
Here the insects with bottle green bodies tend to the flowers
Here the ants wander across your keyboard
It didn't occur to me before that I could sit in the park
When my eyes are crossed with screen time
It shouldn't be a revelation that the park gives and asks nothing of you
No money
No unhealthy food with a profit margin
It gives you a bit of grass to tug on
It gives you meandering conversations of families
Kids being picked up, explaining their artwork
It gives you fuzzy dogs and
Friends saying how do you do
It gives you a melancholic, just changing autumnal tree and
A giant spotted dog like a horse on a leash
It'll give you loved ones pulling up and spilling out of a car and
Awkward middle school love
A father-son dyad on a tandem bike and
A little one twinning with her mother
Adults kept optimistic and alive with the energy of their little ones
Leaving you wondering at the little moments
This time before children
Wondering at the beauty of this city.