When I first came here, I was surprised by the way the mere sight of the miles and miles of yellow grass changed the way I felt. Others have said the same to me, that a gentle undulating field of grass is soothing in a way no other landscape, beautiful as it may be, is. When you approach it, then walk out onto it, your heart steadies in its restless tripping, the muscles that you were not even aware were clenched relax and stop their gentle, restless aching. You stand and stare out across it and in those long subtle miles your worries retreat and grow distant too, diminishing towards the horizon. It is said that it was the appearance of the savannah grassland that made it possible for our ape ancestors to begin the transformation into the human race. Surely that is the reason grasslands hold the key to that closed door in our hearts, because it is home to our species, and the heart knows when it is home. Sharon Butula, from GRASS, an essay included in Fresh Tracks; Writing the Western Landscape, edited by Pamela Banting.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 22:15:28 +0000
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