Sitting on the granite steps outside the Boston Public Library, after being evicted from the blessedly air conditioned Bates Reading Room at 5 PM, I am appreciative of the slight breeze and the parade of people passing through Copley Square this late afternoon . . . the intricacy of detail on Trinity Church across the way.
Apocalypse seems quite remote . . . though a woman with an African accent and a baby in a stroller continues to wander back and forth in front of me proclaiming that God loves and that Christ can provide a better night's sleep and safety upon waking. It's easy to fabricate some horrific past for this woman, in a country where death and torment are more overtly present.
It's easier yet to observe the reactions of those who pass her as she makes her rounds. I particularly appreciated the neanderthal dude who turned and yelled at her, "What the hell are you yelling about?" . . . and, in doing so, lost control of the unlit cigarette dangling from his yap. It fell directly and irretrievably into a crevice between the walkway's granite slabs. God works in humorous ways at times!
Just now, a little fellow with the most gigantic curly mane and a white button-up shirt and a terrific smile has found the statue near where I am sitting fascinating and worth the effort to climb the steps to be near. The exuberant inquisitiveness of childhood is infectious. He really likes this statue! I have no idea what he is saying as he comments on this public work of art, but he is enthusiastic in his assessment.
So many iterations of our human carnival available for perusing. I've been working on revising my long poem "These Days Appear Particular" this afternoon, and sitting here just makes it clearer how particular each of our experiences truly is . . . familiar, similar, yet particular in its details. Billions of story lines all wavering and weaving their way on this small blue marble.
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