The Pleasance As Muse

Like countless others, Linda Manganaro enjoys visiting The Pleasance, the public park at 1 Main Street that was established by The Bee Publishing Co. in 1997.

A gazebo in the main part of the property offers a place to enjoy lunch, gather for small meetings, or have photographs taken. Pathways from the gazebo take visitors through a manicured garden; past sculptures that include a huge turtle, an equally oversize rooster, and a life-size man with a collection of five life-size dogs of myriad breeds; and past a cast iron fountain.

A second area, on the west side of the property, features another meandering stone path and three benches, rhododendrons, holly bushes, and a bed of annuals and perennials, a flagpole, and The Bunny Garden, a children’s garden complete with sculptures of three young bunnies and their mother, a storybook house for the bunnies, and even a small sequence of paths for children to follow.

All of this has served, for more than a decade, as a place for visitors to visit, relax, and even find some peace and quiet even within eyesight of a main intersection.

Mrs Manganaro, a Newtown resident, recently shared a poem with Bee Publisher R. Scudder Smith.

“I spent some alone time at The Pleasance a couple of weeks ago and wanted to share my experience,” she said recently. “I’ve been wanting to write more, and someone had suggested to me that I get away from the house to do that.”

It looks like The Pleasance can offer another attribute to its resume: Place of inspiration.

The Pleasance

As I look out at the majestic weeping willow tree,

Blowing gently in the breeze,

My body relaxes.

As I take in a deep breath of air,

I feel calm.

The fresh air is mixed with subtle fragrances

Of the flowers that are scattered about this lovely place.

The tall trees sway in the wind,

The leaves sounding like water flowing.

I take in the whole landscape

And I feel at peace.

My mind, my body and my spirit are all energized

By the beauty of God’s creation.

As I sit in the gazebo,

People meander through the stone paths.

A mom stops to take a picture of her daughter,

By the honeysuckle bush.

The cares of the world just drift away as I sit and enjoy.

This is my restful place,

Where I can come and just be.

Where God can whisper in my ear,

And share His loving thoughts with me.

—Linda Manganaro