Parking lot

Your words of finding the place that “makes you sad” was resonating with me, and the poem on the Writer’s Almanac first thing Saturday morning was:

When I Am Among the Tree
by Mary Oliver

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.” 

I remembered a wonderful tree that I had just encountered and at the same time, I realized that this tree will be cut down as the site is being cleared for a parking garage. The good news about the parking garage is that it will keep so many cars off the highways because it is a parking structure at the train station. Currently there is no place to park and if there were, more people (4 X as many) would park to take the train. I felt compelled to walk every foot of the parking lot and see what plants and creatures live among the asphalt and three old buildings that will also be torn down. I found so much magic, it was amazing. After each miracle, a reminder in the form of a question: how could I ever have expected anything else?? Birds will lose their homes and these majestic trees will be chopped down. Maybe there is a way to lessen the blow. I don’t know, but I will find out….