Walking by the park
Where a multicultural event is being set up
Dancers and performers
Walk from their cars
Towards the bandshell 
​The sky is bright blue 
​And there is excitement in the air. 

Imagine a gorgeous blue sky day
And having lunch in a fairy grove
With your dear friend
And climbing up to the turret of Belvedere Castle
And taking in the Delacorte
And the ball fields
And the turtles swimming in the pond
What is it like to be a turtle swimming in a pond in the heart of Central Park?
You think you want
To be
A turtle swimming in the pond in the heart of Central Park
But alas, today you are a mere mortal
So you take comfort in
Sitting in a shady spot
Overlooking the trees
Writing together and
A red-breasted robin comes and perches by your foot
And your friend says you are Mary Poppins
Well if you can’t be a turtle, you may as well be a magical mortal
And you spend a happy hour
Immersed in creation

Lemonade and churros in the park
With a dear friend
Later, catching an evening show and
Dissecting the work
Over beef pho

​Oh how I love running in Manhattan!
I could run along the Hudson
Or the East River (trickier with all the construction)
But today I stick to the center(ish) line
The middle way where
There is a green corridor of parks
From Harlem to midtown
Start outside my front door
Trace the perimeter of Jackie Robinson Park
Run up the hill on 145th
And mercifully down the hill to
St Nicholas Park
With its steep sets of stairs winding through the trees
One of the trees has fallen across the path
Carefully step around
Marvel at its size
And the storm that took it down
(You watched the lightening last night
Through the window from your bed
It was an extraordinary show
You think Abuela and Abuelo and the other angels are having a particularly good night of bowling)
Keep running across 125th
Morningside Park
With its pond and wide open field and
Views to the cathedral
(And more stairs)
And then to the grand dame herself
Central Park
Entering through the upper most reach
The North Woods
Then turning around
And running it all in reverse
Down the stairs into Morningside
Past the ducks
Past 125th
Along St Nicholas
Stay on the outside to avoid the stairs
Enter at the tennis court to run around the playgrounds
Past the fallen tree
A few steps ahead of you
A squirrel crash lands on the pavement with a shocking
THWACK!
Ohmygod, did that squirrel just drop dead?!
You pause to look at it
“Are you ok little one?”
The squirrel doesn’t move.
Should you do something?
The squirrel still doesn’t move
Oh god. It’s dead.
Suddenly, it raises its little head
You realize you are probably frightening it.
You take a step back
The squirrel regains its breath
Darts into the undergrowth
You breathe a sigh of relief
No squirrel death today
You keep running
Out of the park and
Past the church that looks like a castle
Up the hill to 145th
Back down the hill to Jackie Robinson
We’re in the home stretch now
Keep pushing until the app tells you you’ve made it
And then cool down by walking to 153rd where there is a water fountain
It feels damn good.

A guided run with Coach Bennet
Along the Hudson
On a gorgeous spring day
The blue of the sky
The green of the park
What are you proud of
When you run?
The fact that I can
The fact that I do
How much fun it is
Just me and my runners
My headphones
My running playlist
The way I feel at the end
It’s been a little while since I ran longer than 5km
And here I am
6.43km feels easy
I feel like I could keep going

The thrill of seeing an extraordinary play
With extraordinary performances
The way the actors seamlessly switched between characters
The delicious inhabiting of different bodies
The walk, the talk
The positioning of the head
The movement of the hands
The use of voice
In speech and song
How a hat can transform a person
Entirely into another being
The magic of theatre

Marathon training has officially begun
A sweaty 5km around Yankee Stadium
Discovering gorgeous fairy dens and
Feeling glorious

What was my favorite part of today?
Sitting in Central Park with a friend
Talking about boys and theatre and running
Or sharing a meal with a dear friend
And finally being able to eat a whole meal?!
Eating ice cream in Central Park
Watching the tail end of a game of baseball
Under a bright blue sky
Or staying up late writing music
Figuring out beats and rhythms and
EmPHAses
Or having the feeling that it is ok to feel well
To feel good
Or the feeling good
Feeling like I’m where I’m need to be
Even when it is overwhelming and scary and exciting and good

Meeting a friend 
Downtown
Warm enough to not need a jacket, and
Warm enough to sit outside
Pancakes for lunch, because why not?!
The hum of conversation
The family at the next table getting a group photo
ConGRADulations! 
All the puppies walking by
With their happy tails wagging 
It is indeed a lovely afternoon
​To be out and about 

The synchronicity
Of watching a musical 
About making music in NYC
Where the love interest 
Was a street drummer 
Who played the plastic bucket
And schlepped paint drums downtown 
Then coming home 
And seeing a work train
Full of buckets 
​The music is everywhere.