Two California Parks In Early Spring

I. Concord Skateboard Park Sheltered in this smooth, round, concrete nest of dips and curves, obelisks and giant, Mayan steps on a blind corner hidden by small hills from two busy streets intersecting at its tip, Twenty boys,8 to 18, practice their moves, swiveling one-pointedly up and down and around. Some day they’ll move on from this birthing-ground, swiveling down the decades on a board or office chair. A few girls watch, Sprawled on the grass. Behind them all, flowering crabapples, palms, then the mountains. The city’s wise to have invested a few bucks toward its future in an old, vacant lot. II. A Chant To Heather Farms Park Sun of fire, water of lake and fountain, earth whose soil sustains the lawns, and air of the sweet breath of spring: the four elements are holding a conclave here on this Sunday afternoon, drawing many families, and especially, today, calling forth many sounds. Oh, park of a basketball's steady bounce, of lovers whispering in Russian and the creaking rhythm of swings. Park of car engines starting, of families who laugh or talk in Hindi, Bengali, English, Arabic, and in goose-squawk and duck-flap, Park of the slide of scooter wheels, of loud feet chasing the one who caught the football, of a hand tapping the body of a guitar, and a far-off, hip-hop radio. Silent with pen, o park of joy, I take you home on paper, I take you home in my heart.