sweet auburn | 2025 volume I
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT:
Jennifer Markell
en years ago, in early May, my husband and I were
T looking to relocate within the Boston area. We loved Cambridge, with its storied history and literary lights, but I wasn’ t sure about moving to such a busy, fast-paced, urban environment. Was there an un-crowded, quiet place in Cambridge to walk and think and dream, a sanctuary to reconnect with nature away from the built environment? My husband suggested we take a walk in Mount Auburn Cemetery. A cemetery? I didn’ t have high expectations. Soon we were walking winding paths and hills among old maples, beeches, and elms. The apple trees were blossoming. Orioles were building nests high in the oaks. I found myself drawn to this place of peace and natural beauty. The grave stones and sculptures seemed like part of the landscape. We stopped to chat with some bird watchers. A woman told me she’ d spotted a Scarlet Tanager that morning, a bird I’ d heard of but never seen. A few minutes later, as we were getting ready to leave, the Tanager appeared right over our heads. I’ d never seen such a stunning, vivid red. And that was it— I knew then that Mount Auburn was a place of renewal and inspiration, and that I could make Cambridge my home. I hope you enjoy this poem I wrote about the uplifting signs of spring seen at the Cemetery:
A Brief History of the File Labeled Spring
Mount Auburn Cemetery
At pond’ s edge, a heron balances on one leg, watches in stillness,
as if holding the troubled world at bay. Bird watchers peer into treetops for a glimpse
of Yellowthroat. With patience akin to faith, they whisper the names of warblers:
Parula, Cerulean, Black-throated Blue, migrating songbirds that unstitch
borders, and lift the canopy. Spring light skims the clouds, falls like a sun-stone
on a flame-colored Oriole, gorging on blossoms. His song, a river at its source.
Beyond gravestones and monuments, a limestone angel gazes upward, like she’ s caught sight
of something sublime— the Scarlet Tanager flashing overhead, a jewel from the realm of red.
— Jennifer Markell
Above: Scarlet Tanager Far left: Baltimore Oriole; left: Northern Parula Photos by: Jason Barcus
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