we were in a cathedral of nature.
We breathed fragrances of morning marsh air,
new leaves, sun-warmed wooden walkways
and wildflowers near the paths.
We enjoyed the textures of the cattails, the rough railings on the walkways, the bark of birches, the stiff grasses and rushes,
the weightless sensation of leaves, as we brushed by.
The views off the pathways were filled
with aging and growth...
nature happening everywhere. We stayed on the paths,
and touched and took nothing.
The Park is clear that nothing is to be disturbed.
It was enough to look, to breathe in and to walk.
There were brooks and meadows, swathes of cattails,
bowers of birch and everywhere,
sky and leaves reflected at water's edge.
There was beauty in the cattails and at every turn on the path.
We had to stop
again and again to gaze and wonder.
As we stared, we saw a hidden nest here, a wildflower there.
We heard a warble or a trill or a squawk
or leaves rustling and a whir of wings.
And all the while, we strolled in sun's warmth
or in the kiss of dappled shade.
It was sacred space.
We enjoyed the day
and this place of sanctity in nature.
And felt better for the time spent.
As we left the Sackville Waterfowl Park,
we breathed more gently on our way.
Note:
All photos are mine.
The phrases describing the Sackville Waterfowl Park
as a cathedral of nature and
as a sacred space were first suggested by friends,
so are not original to me.
