Children’s Sculpture Garden (Thursday Doors on Friday)

we cover our children
with wishes—long life,
peace, plenty, joy–
our children are our future

~roots, branches, all connected~

we are responsible for every child,
all of us branches from the same tree–
every child is ours–
every child’s future is our own

The Children’s Sculpture Garden surrounds the Peace Fountain on the grounds of the Cathedral of St John the Divine in Morningside Heights in Manhattan. I took these pictures long ago, so I didn’t know to get a better picture of the gate, but it gives me a good reason to go back.

The fountain was designed by artist-in-residence at the Cathedral, Greg Wyatt, in 1985, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Diocese of New York. The sculpture shows the struggle between good and evil, with the Archangel Michael defeating Satan, and includes many seemingly unrelated elements that caused some controversy at the time. I like that it casts a wide net over life itself and the cosmos in which life resides.

Surrounding the fountain are animals sculpted by K-12 students from the surrounding neighborhood schools–public, private, and parochial. The Cathedral’s mission includes services for a wide range of local residents, and is a large supporter of the arts.

There are also plaques commemorating various icons of peace, including Gandhi and John Lennon, on the periphery of the plaza.

I have never seen the fountain working. Evidently it was constructed during a drought, but I’m not sure why it hasn’t since been turned on.

I have lots and lots of photos of the Cathedral itself, both inside and out, from various visits–although they don’t begin to cover all of its treasures. Also, the art inside is always changing. Once I gather and organize them, I have enough for a few posts.

My poem is a quadrille in the puente form for dVerse, where Lisa supplied the word with.

And look for more doors, as always, at Thursday Doors, hosted by Dan Antion.