Backyard, 1977

This is the backyard of the house on Bishop Street. Until I saw this film, I thought that I'd deluded myself into imagining my old backyard as a polychromatic wonderland of flora, or that I'd erroneously constructed an enchanted forest of bushes lining the perimeter, bushes perfect for hiding in that never actually existed. But here's proof: the honeysuckle trees brimming, the lines of tulips bursting.

There was one bush in the yard I remember best; with its brittle flowers I thought of it as the great grandmother of the garden, wearing bone-colored gloves with a lace trim. In the wind, it sounded like old love letters. If that makes any sense at all. It makes a brief appearance at 1:40, I think, though I wouldn't know for sure until I was able to touch it again, to feel those brittle flowers turning to dust between my fingers.

(Music: "Walk With Me" by John McGrew, who always wishes he remembered it all better.)

© Zan McQuade. All rights reserved.