April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Every time I spray Alfred Sung's pale, watery lilac confection Sha, I think of these lines and wonder what other associations between lyric and scent should I explore.
Not long ago, my husband gave me a gift of poet Louise Glück's recent book of poetry, Averno. There, in "October," she writes these words:
It is true there is not enough beauty in the world.
It is also true that I am not competent to restore it.
Neither is there candor, and here I may be of some use.
I have taken Ms. Glück's passage to guide me as a writer and as an explorer of the sensory world. I hope readers of these articles will find something of beauty: an idea, an olfactory pleasure, or the candor of a well-crafted poem.
Heather
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