The looming shadows of skyscrapers cover us while walking through bustling streets. With the setting sun comes the cascading of night. As suddenly as a flick of a switch, street lights brightly glow in the dark. The break between buildings is scattered with old trees around a grass filled park. Benches and criss-crossed paths cut through the greenery, marking the presence of Man.
Approaching the center of the park feels as though the surrounding city has faded away. The roaring of cars zooming by has become distorted, replacing the chirping of birds with the rustling of trees. Music thumps from Jannus Live down the street. Sound resonates through my ears. The overlap of mingling sounds creates a noisy synergy; a combination of nature’s harmony and the white noise of Man.
All around me are people enjoying twilight strolls while I stand on the green grass. I wonder what they see as they move on by. Do they bear witness to the stark contrast between this space? Between the nature in Williams Park and and towering office buildings located one block over?
I see the clear and distinctly drawn boundaries indicating where nature has been allotted. In this space, it is allowed to be whatever it chooses; however, even here it is maintained and groomed by human standards. That also means that it is full of human by-products. Trash cans are all around; plastic in multiple forms litters the ground. Yet, in Williams Park, nature stands amidst the concrete, metal, and glass that shape the city. A reminder of the past and a piece of the natural world, Williams Park is a symbol to the city of St. Petersburg.
