“that we find a crystal or a poppy beautiful means that we are less alone,
that we are more deeply inserted into existence than the course of a single life would lead us to believe.”
-john berger
—
anna scripps whitcomb conservatory, belle isle, detroit, michigan
entering the anna scripps whitcomb conservatory
designed by albert kahn and george mason in 1904
on belle isle, in detroit, michigan
you realize what an amazing vision of the world they had
“architecture is not such a knowledge form, but a form of knowledge.”
-bernard tschumi
tranquility can be found most everywhere
—
‘peace is liberty in tranquillity.”
-marcus tullius cicero
kinder quite naturally, know what to do
—
“in a time of destruction, create something.”
-maxine hong kingston
kinder frame the natural beauty found around them
“if you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.”
-laura ingalls wilder
once again, my favorite tiny window offers me a view to remember.
—
“the eye is always caught by light, but shadows have more to say.”
-gregory maguire
after many hours spent in the kinder playhouse
art, memories, stories, and a beautiful view of the world
are what still remain.
—
“this was something sure to be crammed full of warm secrets,
like an antique clock built when peace filled the world.”
-haruki murakami
on the river – welcoming spring
—
The Swan
Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river?
Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air –
An armful of white blossoms,
A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned
into the bondage of its wings; a snowbank, a bank of lilies,
Biting the air with its black beak?
Did you hear it, fluting and whistling
A shrill dark music – like the rain pelting the trees – like a waterfall
Knifing down the black ledges?
And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds –
A white cross Streaming across the sky, its feet
Like black leaves, its wings Like the stretching light of the river?
And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?
And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?
And have you changed your life?
– Mary Oliver
last night’s walk in the park
—
“it is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam.
this crisp winter air is full of it.”
-john burroughs
—
argo park, ann arbor, michigan, usa – february 2021
