A County Night

Brooks Park

Night fast approached as burning summer day dimmed to twilight. Tall weeds and field grass sprouted skyward, untamed and pagan; a procession of intertwining brush ascending a sloping field to meet a freshly mowed yard. Where field growth met a wide swathe of manicured lawn, a wall of weaving thickets stood teetering in a soft breeze.

Exposed on one side, this neatly trimmed yard stretched beside a paved two lane county road. Beyond the property edge the road descended along the slope of the field, disappearing between two dark tree lines. At the bottom of the hill the road curved into a dark opening, winding from there into the county’s rural depths. Along the eastern length of property a patch of trees stood divisive watch, their shadows evicting those final moments of lingering daylight.

On the other side of the dense wooded barrier, a neighboring road ran along a succession of yards trimmed at uniform height; a flat carpet of green. Red brick houses, evenly spaced and compliant, were positioned snugly behind a row of asphalt driveways.

As dusk darkened into night, street lamps cast long, angled shadows across proud yards. Thick summer night covered the safe, simple dwellings firmly dotting the yards. As if by cue every window began to glow, seeping intrusive lights to be smothered in the pitch dark woods.

On my side of that wall of. night and unkempt wood, nocturnal serenity draped the expanse of our sovereignty. Intentionally sequestered between woodland and…