at 75

By a bench through
a forest by a stream
in a park of windows
open to settlers and
a view of a collective
of quince and beech
and willow oak.
Flowing in panels of
holly, modules of
cypress and cedar,
canopies of poplar
and light. A pioneer of
community, a structure
of sharing, of privacy
and participation
cantilevered and
grooved, floated and
glazed, of glass walls
and butterflies, gabled
and flat over cover
of crape and pine,
rhythms of deer and
masonry, slopes of
mustard and mingling.
Coursing now as
visioned by founders,
Davenport and Goodman,
Voigt, Kiley, and Paepcke,
by a bench through
a forest by a stream
in a park in Hollin Hills.

— Cliff Bernier, 2024