FIELD JOURNAL

I think about what brings people to the park.

I think about the marriage proposal, the violinist, and the audacity of love,

the young man reading Camus because he wants to understand,

kindness as a kinesthetic act,

what one says when one feels safe.

 I think about the ecstasy of dogs,

the pilot walking without beacons,

the insanity of tobogganing,

skaters, and angels, and wings.

 I think about the last time I brought my children, now grown, to this play space,

the mustachioed man who was of another time,

the moment the snow day call went up on the hill,

routine, rhythm, and rhyme.

I think about what grounds us.

This ongoing project honours Frederick Law Olmsted’s vision for Boston’s Emerald Necklace park chain. Born over a century and a half ago as a gift of respite, this third space remains just as vital today.