You wild, unruly beauty.
so captivated every Spring imagined it was year round. surroundings were bleak. life was tough. fear and unknown. fences and barriers towered. unspoken rules learned by living. burned out buildings and rubble. too much rubble.
And then, amazing yellow bushes bursting with boundless color.
You wild, unruly beauty.
in memory always there. always in bloom. always accompanied us.
in memory as long as children on the faded gray once black tar top school yard: on line waiting (size order, boys on one side, girls on the other) – before school, after lunch, during fire drills; or running and playing carefree – before school, during recess, after school. so were amazing yellow bushes bursting with boundless color.
in memory the sub-parcel cordoned off behind 12+ foot chain link fence.
never barren, never solely strewn with bottles, litter and trash. if we were there,
And so were amazing yellow bushes bursting with boundless color.
You wild, unruly beauty.
Walton High School to the left. vacant, overgrown lots behind P.S. 86.
195 Street to the right. the back of the decommissioned, largely defunct and vacant Kingsbridge Armory. largest armory in the world, covering 5 acres. nothing soft, nothing beautiful. little bodies twirled in circles, laughing together. self-induced dizziness, pretend “drunk walking” on the faded gray once black tar top school yard.
beyond the 12+ foot chain link fence, vision of the world blocked. brick and stone structures on three sides. the elevated train on the fourth. below children’s feet faded gray once black tar top. and rubble. too much rubble. steel and stone. industrial and mammoth. nothing soft, nothing beautiful.
little necks stretch, look up. blue skies, white clouds. beauty. look up. look up. only up.
And then, amazing yellow bushes bursting with boundless color.
You wild, unruly beauty.
loomed large in every direction, poking out from every hole of the chain link fence.
carried memory of this beauty throughout life. never to be seen again.
decades later. Ohio. the amazing yellow bushes bursting with boundless color.
had to know: Who are you? long lost, never forgotten, much cherished. a balm to my essence. reappearing. in a new place we never shared. Is that you?
simultaneously captivated and taken a back. repressed memories. The Bronx school yard. the sole spark of brilliance on gray. instant recognition. a child being soothed. visually absorbing. savoring the misplaced, out of this world
And amazing yellow bushes bursting with boundless color.
You wild, unruly beauty.
amongst rubble and gray and fear. imprints on a child’s psyche.
Forsythia. I now know her name. Invasive as you are, I will always be indebted.
a balm for the broken. a balm for the pain. enduring promise. enduring hope. thank you
Amazing yellow bushes bursting with boundless color.
—
Isabella Moreno is a Nuyorican from The Bronx writing and blossoming in Cleveland, Ohio. She is the founder of Illuminating Our Voices. For 15+ years she has curated workshops for POC/BIPOC communities. Her writing has been included in: Cleveland Humanities Festival, Boundaries & Borders, Peregrine and Azahares. She believes joy can always be found in collective spaces of shared creation. Her two adult children add the magical rhythm to her heart.
