La Perla Community Garden
A garbage-filled plot, soothed over time with love and care, can transform into a pearl. Tiny flags undulate in the wind, accompanied by the subtle sound of seashells and chimes. Mirrors hanging from branches reflect the light. Robert, a long-bearded man resembling a Shakespearean actor, explains that the marble for the statue at the garden’s entrance was brought from St. John the Divine, a nearby Gothic cathedral. My mind drifts to sublime Cycladic figures soaking up the Aegean light; perfect and mysterious, like this statue.
76 W. 105th Street, between Manhattan & Columbus Avenues
Sculpture made of marble from St. John the Divine (artist unknown)
Garden at dusk
Mural painted by local children
Robert enjoying a quiet evening