Some outsiders insist that this part of the country has it’s charm, but I figure they’re just being polite. No one comes to visit. Our guest room is kind of a joke. Who wants to spend a day of their precious vacation time visiting East Central Illinois, when you could be in the mountains or near the ocean or in an enormous forest? But for the last couple of weeks we–the people of Urbana–have been posting pictures of this sunflower field on the east side of town and dare I say it? It’s stunning.
And it’s not lost on us. Each night enough people head out to Stone Creek Boulevard that it’s tricky to park. You see fancy clothes, selfie sticks, professional photographers, wheelchairs being wheeled off the sidewalks, mediation rugs, tai chi practitioners and children squealing as they run in the tall stalks. It’s quite a spectacle. And just the thing for a community so starved for delight. With no pools open, no Sweetcorn Festival and no County Fair, it’s been a bleak summer. This field was a timely gift, a beautiful surprise and one that will be well-remembered in photos.
I’m working on a poem about it. I know it’s strange, but I find it much easier to write about hard things than I do writing about something so plainly lovely. It’s so easy to fall into cliche or to write something saccharine and forgettable. But I’m not giving up! Until then, I just offer this picture I took of the field at sunset. Isn’t it something?