Prague\u2019s parks have you in mind.
\nThey have withstood the test of time
\nPolitical garden parties
\nand regime changes.<\/p>\n
As a visitor, you may feel the excitement
\nof \u201cdiscovering\u201d a new park
\nOnce you have started to explore beyond
\nPetrin and Letna.<\/p>\n
But what is more amazing than that
\nSelf-centered notion of \u201cdiscovering\u201d
\nIs the realization
\nThat you were meant to find these parks.<\/p>\n
They have been waiting for you
\nAnd that book you have been meaning to read
\nOr that classmate you would like to catch up with.<\/p>\n
Prague is not Eastern
\nYou are not Western
\nAnd the parks are not hidden.<\/p>\n
They are not quiet because they are tucked away,
\nThey are quiet because you need calm and greenery\u2014
\nJust like everyone else\u2014
\nTo restore yourselves.<\/p>\n
They do not happen to have amazing viewpoints,
\nYou were expected to make your way to the lookouts.
\nThe flowers are not only lovely this time of year,
\nThey have been thinking lovely thoughts of you all winter.<\/p>\n
Petrin\u2019s tower was not meant to lick at Eiffel\u2019s heels,
\nBut was marking your spot
\nLike a pin on a map until you could
\nMake the uphill trek to castle ruins unmapped.<\/p>\n
The bench tented under wisteria is not shy,
\nIt is thoughtful and is a good listener
\nWhen you are ready to bring a journal, a pen
\nAnd open up.<\/p>\n
The shadows and corners are not kept clean,
\nThere is just no need for scum to lurk.
\nThese are little affirmations that you are safe in the city.
\nAmongst the grasses, the gravel paths and the gardens
\nYou can heal.<\/p>\n
You can relax the tension
\nyou have been holding in your shoulders
\nFrom constantly looking over them.<\/p>\n
The walk to the park warms up your blood
\nand juices your confidence.
\nNo one hassles you on the way to the park.
\nNo one hassles you in the park.
\nNo one hassles you on the way home from the park.<\/p>\n
The parks will confide in you more than the city dwellers.
\nThey will remind you that Prague has not hidden away these parks,
\nBut has folded them into the city landscape
\nLike a note you find that your mother slipped to the bottom of your suitcase.<\/p>\n
The note is a legend to get you to the vantage point
\nWhere you will see that Prague dwellers
\nare not cold, rude, or antisocial.<\/p>\n
They are just part of an urban social fabric that comforts
\nYou by not having street harassment woven in.
\nThe parks offer you this woven gift and only ask
\nOf you in return that when you no longer need its warmth,<\/p>\n
You wrap it carefully and share it with the next visitor
\nwho thinks they have \u201cdiscovered\u201d a Prague park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Prague\u2019s 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 \u201cdiscovering\u201d a new park Once you have started to explore beyond Petrin and Letna. But what is more amazing than that Self-centered notion of \u201cdiscovering\u201d Is the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[49],"tags":[80,81,27,84],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":787,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786\/revisions\/787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}