Spring is always associated with new beginnings. For a while I really felt like the shell of New York City was hatching to produce a fluffy little duckling of romance, fulfilled hopes, and rose scented cotton skirts. I saw and felt a few things...a melting snow man that conveniently melted into the shape of a heart, a flower laden Strawberry Fields, a small Indian wedding taking place in Central Park, and a sun melt pink into the Hudson. Everything in my life is ending right now though...school is almost up...my first year in New York is coming to a close while I can hear summer sizzling from a six hour drive away. My mouth is watering for yoga, the sound of my best friends’ laughs, mountains, barefoot dancing to banjos, camping, berries, crisp lettuce, chlorinated curls, and banana oil.
Under the pink tulip poplars in Central Park I watch a sample of New York society congregate and bask in their budding rose tans. A homeless man sleeps half in the sun, half in the shade... oblivious to the more fortunate running around him, but proud he can call this petal laden field his bed for the day. A woman walks in the middle of the patch of petal-filled nature and has her picture taken. No smile, Louis Vuitton bag swung forward and sunglasses covering her eyes. What a perfect backdrop for superficiality! The little five-year-olds count to ten as each of their friends take their turn sitting in the tree. They seem to get more joy from counting and clapping than the time they spend sheepishly sitting on the tree’s arm. Some other little girls make up a game that consists of throwing the large pink petals up like leaves. It seemed like yesterday that those trees were giving the world reds, golds, and the crinkly smell of beautiful decay. The scene was different then too. People gathered in scarves and shiny boots that matched the trees around them. Now all you see is flowery prints and flowing white. People don’t even realize how much nature influences society. We should probably appreciate it more, yes? An asian bride and groom enter stage right. The Central Park show isn’t over till the asian bride takes pictures.
Another homeless man lies down under the flowers with his entire life still strapped to his back as he sleeps away. A large dread lock props open the book he was reading when he drifted off to sleep. It’s impossible to not smile when you spot a kiss all the way across a lake... I can hear their fluttering hearts above the clacking and creaking of the rowboats as they splash lovers and families through the water. It’s a wonderful spring day when you see the water in the fountains for the first time. Already I see an upside down gin bottle, a Listerine strips packet, the heel of a shoe...and numerous shiny pennies floating in the speckled water. This doesn’t stop the kids from hiking up their little skirts and shorts and splashing around without a care. I’m going in.
I love where the flowers and the leaves meet the skyline...my two homes. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment