Prague’s parks have you in mind.
They have withstood the test of time
Political garden parties
and regime changes.
As a visitor, you may feel the excitement
of “discovering” a new park
Once you have started to explore beyond
Petrin and Letna.
But what is more amazing than that
Self-centered notion of “discovering”
Is the realization
That you were meant to find these parks.
They have been waiting for you
And that book you have been meaning to read
Or that classmate you would like to catch up with.
Prague is not Eastern
You are not Western
And the parks are not hidden.
They are not quiet because they are tucked away,
They are quiet because you need calm and greenery—
Just like everyone else—
To restore yourselves.
They do not happen to have amazing viewpoints,
You were expected to make your way to the lookouts.
The flowers are not only lovely this time of year,
They have been thinking lovely thoughts of you all winter.
Petrin’s tower was not meant to lick at Eiffel’s heels,
But was marking your spot
Like a pin on a map until you could
Make the uphill trek to castle ruins unmapped.
The bench tented under wisteria is not shy,
It is thoughtful and is a good listener
When you are ready to bring a journal, a pen
And open up.
The shadows and corners are not kept clean,
There is just no need for scum to lurk.
These are little affirmations that you are safe in the city.
Amongst the grasses, the gravel paths and the gardens
You can heal.
You can relax the tension
you have been holding in your shoulders
From constantly looking over them.
The walk to the park warms up your blood
and juices your confidence.
No one hassles you on the way to the park.
No one hassles you in the park.
No one hassles you on the way home from the park.
The parks will confide in you more than the city dwellers.
They will remind you that Prague has not hidden away these parks,
But has folded them into the city landscape
Like a note you find that your mother slipped to the bottom of your suitcase.
The note is a legend to get you to the vantage point
Where you will see that Prague dwellers
are not cold, rude, or antisocial.
They are just part of an urban social fabric that comforts
You by not having street harassment woven in.
The parks offer you this woven gift and only ask
Of you in return that when you no longer need its warmth,
You wrap it carefully and share it with the next visitor
who thinks they have “discovered” a Prague park.
CHID major making little things a big deal.
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