Found at “The Gates”

“The Gates” was an outdoor art installation by Christo and Jeanne-Claude in Central Park, New York City, February 12-27, 2005. 7,500 gates, each with free-hanging, orange fabric panels suspended from the top, were installed throughout the park.

Central Park in the snow –
it could be any Northern winter day –
the only color from ranks of taxis
lined up at stop lights –
except for the flash of orange cloth
as it waves in the wind,
strange wings that swing out like ball dresses.
Their sturdy metal legs march down paths,
over bridges and past the ice rink.
I know I should guard for ice underfoot,
but it’s hard not to tip my head back,
squint against the glare of the clouds
to marvel at the clean pleasure of
something so startling.
As crowds swirl past,
a man asks, “What’s the point?”.
I know he’s right – but they make me smile.
Somehow they have changed my idea
of this city forever.
I have come to New York thirty years after
my first visit,
with no thought of more than
theatre and dinners, unprepared for
this chance meeting in Central Park.
This is the kind of accident that adds
a new love to your life.
Whenever I return,
ghosts of these strange beings will
flash just outside my vision.