Last week, I invited you all to participate in Around The Circle, Filling In The Blanks, all about parks. This collective ode made me love parks even more — and I already love them so much!
I’m honored, excited, and moved to share the poem with you — thank you to everyone who contributed and to everyone reading along!
When I go to the park, I go to __________.
When I go to the park, I go to Prospect Park if I’m in New York or Golden Gate Park if I’m in San Francisco.
When I go to the park, I go to Fort Greene Park if I’m in Brooklyn or Zilker Park if I’m in Austin.
When I go to the park, I go to observe a wide range of people. From babies to baldies.
When I go to the park, I go to Benicia City Park
When I go to the park, I go to a big place with trees and most likely a playground.
When I go to the park, I go to be in nature and be in my body
When I go to the park, I go to wherever my feet take me, and I never know where that ends up to be until I get there after a series of spontaneous path choices I make along the way
When I go to the park, I go to Golden Gate Park, Crissy Field/Tunnel Tops, or Land's End or Prospect Park, Central Park, Bryant Park or any square when on the east coast.
When I go to the park, I go to enjoy the sunshine.
When I go to the park, I go to wherever my walk takes me.
When I go to the park, I go to a park with the botanical garden by the water.
When I go to the park, I go to Prospect Park.
I see __________.
I see dogs running towards each other like old friends.
I see furrowed brows (joggers, ambitious toddlers), and wide smiles (lovers, everyone else).
I see people enjoying each others company
I see kids on scooters and people soaking up the sun.
I see life and relaxation all around me
I see natural beauty and human activity within it while I enjoy being passively or actively connected
I see hills, trees, the blue or grey sky streaked with crows, many shades of green, my favorite hilltop viewpoint or two! And I see and hear people all over enjoying their park - the sun, the flowers, grass, trees and the ever changing sky.
I see the seasons, as demonstrated by the leaves on the trees.
I see birds!
I see flowers blooming, bird feeders, and dogs playing.
I see a man with a boombox dancing alone.
I hear __________.
I hear birds chirping.
I hear guffawing, good loud laughs, exclamations.
I hear the sounds of First Street
I hear water splashing and children laughing.
I hear kids playing and leaves rustling and animals being
I hear natural soft sounds like wind rustling leaves of trees and then suddenly the sound of bikes tires crunching the dirt behind me and I instinctively bend my path to the right letting the bike go by and then hear the distant amplified reggae percussion wafting in and out of the windy air cooling my cheeks and nose as I step toward the sound ahead
I hear crows and listen for a red tailed hawk always; I hear distantly kids laughing and calling; adults chatting & playing games; music broadcast & live, and always the wind in the trees.
I hear a mix of nature sounds and human sounds.
I hear kids playing soccer, dogs barking, people going about their day.
I hear the boat horns in the distance.
I hear camp counselors blowing into their whistles.
One time, in the park, I __________.
One time, in the park, I saw Chappell Roan going for a run.
One time, in the park, I applied deodorant behind a tree, because my partner wanted to cuddle on a blanket.
One time, in the park, I learned how to dance the hula
One time, in the park, I staged a fight scene with my friends because we were theater nerds.
One time, in the park, I got chased by an unhoused man
One time, in the park, I saw a red tailed hawk perched on the head of a Scottish poet, just chilling.
One time, in the park, I called the trees my friends like my nephew called dinosaurs his. It stuck.
One time, in the park, I saw a hawk eating a smaller bird.
One time in the park, I fell asleep in the sun.
One time, in the park, I literally got ants in my pants.
One time, in the park, I listened to Phoebe Bridgers play two nights in a row.
I go to the park when __________.
I go to the park when I need to clear my head, so that I can write.
I go to the park when the heating is drying out my sinuses, or the air conditioning is drying out my sinuses.
I go to the park when I want to have a sense of community
I go to the park when I need fresh air and sunshine.
I go to the park when I need to move gently or solve a writing problem
I go to the park whenever I have time to take it in and especially when it's good outside!
I go to the when I get the urge which is pretty constant.
I go to the park when I need somewhere pleasant to go for free.
I go to the park when I am walking my doggo friends, when Toby and I are feeling extra chatty and want to walk and talk, when Toby and I want to relax and read, when I need a deep breath.
I go to the park when I want to smell the water.
I go to the park when I need to feel the fresh air and return to my body.
In the park, I feel __________.
In the park, I feel in love with the birds, the trees, the dogs, and the lake.
In the park, I feel giggly. People are funnier when they’re trying not to be.
In the park, I feel connected with my community
In the park, I feel a sense of promise and openness.
In the park, I feel at peace
In the park, I feel connections
In the park, I feel space and time slowing down and nature stepping in.
In the park, I feel like a real citizen of the city.
In the park, I feel present and connected. To the Earth, to my community, to myself
In the park, I feel reflective.
In the park, I feel comforted by the reminder that the seasons are always turning.
In the park, I try __________.
In the park, I try to look at everything.
In the park, I try to strike a conversation with a welcoming stranger.
In the park, I try to think of ways I can make the experience better for those I am with and those around me
In the park, I try to breathe it all in and store up the energy.
In the park, I try to stay off my phone
In the park, I try to explore and find something pleasantly surprising
In the park, I try to breathe deeply, to feel my body moving and relaxing
In the park, I try to see new birds or critters.
In the park, I try to leave the outside world... outside.
In the park, I try to enjoy the greenery.
In the park, I try to keep my phone in my bag for as long as I can.
In the park, I __________.
In the park, I wrote my saddest journal entry.
In the park, I can sweat in the summertime without feeling of judgment.
In the park, I kissed the most beautiful woman in the world
In the park, I ran into my high school ex and pretended everything was cool.
In the park, I lay on a blanket with my partner
In the park, I usually feel at home, even though im not at home.
In the park, I can see and think more clearly
In the park, I feel my tax dollars working in a way that genuinely delights me.
In the park, I practice gratitude.
In the park, I listen to songs and make up choreography in my head.
In the park, I stood next to someone I was falling in love with and envisioned what it would really feel like to be a parent for the first time.
In the park, I __________.
In the park, I listen to songs from musicals.
In the park, I can have imaginary conversations with exes and the dead.
In the park, I enjoy a cup of locally brewed coffee
In the park, I play with my kid until it’s time to go home.
In the park, I don’t have to do anything
In the park, I am very comfortable
In the park, I feel open, curious and peacefully awake. I liken it to a shark swimming meditatively in the ocean.
In the park, I feel my toes between the blades of grass.
In the park, I smile at the turtles who lay in a row on a log, sunbathing together.
In the park, I do my best people watching.
In the park, I run up the hill and feel sexy and hot and strong and capable.
At the center of every park is __________.
At the center of every park is the opportunity to get lost.
At the center of every park is chaos - barking dogs, yelling children, entwined lovers, over caffeinated yuppies, sweet old people, me.
At the center of every park is a place to meet and greet new friends and old friends alike
At the center of every park is water you can splash in.
At the center of every park is all of us animals simply being
At the center of every park is an immersive force that binds human activity with natural beauty
At the center of every park is a gathering place or two for people.
At the center of every park is a space for community, both passive and active.
At the center of every park is the heart of a community.
At the center of every park is a playground full of kids with (hopefully) no worries.
At the center of every park is a mind in need of some detangling.
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