Return to Crystal Spring

A few months ago, some of you might recall, I went on a local pilgrimage to one of Walt Whitman's favorite spots, Crystal Spring. I wrote about it (you might want to read that one first if you haven't), and mentioned that I had planned to go back when the leaves were back on the trees. It was January when I visited the first time. On my birthday, in fact.

It was indeed a different experience, this time. It's only a small place, this little spring. But there is certainly a peacefulness there that wasn't as rich in the winter. For one thing, it sounded more like a poet's retreat. (It was, in fact, a place where Whitman worked on Leaves of Grass.) While I was there, I did a little recording on my phone. Have listen as you read (you can hear the very spring Whitman heard). Reality does set in at the end as a truck passes on a nearby street: