Pan's Promenade

Pan's Promenade 5:30pm June 27th 2008
Today I was walking along Pan's Promenade, with a vision of Arcadia I could hear Pan at his pipes and the sounds of a goat herd and herder.
This garden does that, makes one dream and want to believe such things.
But the university, however, in its wisdom refers to this path of flowers, exotic trees, leafy lawns and cool shades, jacaranda purples, myrtle pinks, and haunts of youth and their displays and movements of their coming into ripeness, as Sir Charles Court Promenade.
And I know the name they have chosen, of an identity who no doubt gave greatly and unashamedly for the university, deserves to be remembered, but not in this space along this sacred corridor.
His name seems out of place.
His name should adorn the architecture building with its stark communist greys of jail-tone and uniform rigidity it is an apt place to remember a politician.
Names are important.
They have important stories to tell and symbols to uphold and most often we tend to forget this.
Now, I have noticed of late, how the last leaves of the maple or liquid amber are only just hanging on in the lower branches.
Then too periodically the wing tips of the oriental plain continue to glide.
I saw one today that glided straight out above my head for perhaps 30 metres.
Its wing tips were pointed skywards and I could see it was aerodynamically formed. The sight of its flight made me curious as to where the new passenger jets had taken their designs from - was it the sight of one of these plain leaves?
Most of the leaves beyond my window have already left their branches and flown - bare branches are becoming more and more common.
In two weeks I too must fly away, 38.000 ft in the air.
For I am leaving to see The Telc Lepa, The Dup and lazing red trams of Stromovka, and to while away some of my moments with Capek and Kafka.
In a little while I will be flying to the Czech Republic.
This window I will not see again until green shoots have emerged and in their springing have formed new leaves and solar sails in ripening eagerness for the heat and bright light of summer ahead.