FIVE A.M. IN THE PINEWOODS

I’d seen
their hoofprints in the deep
needles and knew
they ended the long night

under the pines, walking
like two mute
and beautiful women toward
the deeper woods, so I

got up in the dark and
went there. They came
slowly down the hill
and looked at me sitting under

the blue trees, shyly
they stepped
closer and stared
from under their thick lashes and even

nibbled some damp
tassels of weeds. This
is not a poem about a dream,
though it could be.

This is a poem about the world
that is ours, or could be.
Finally
one of them— I swear it!—

would have come to my arms.
But the other
stamped sharp hoof in the
pine needles like

the tap of sanity,
and they went off together through
the trees. When I woke
I was alone,

I was thinking:
so this is how you swim inward,
so this is how you flow outward,
so this is how you pray.

Mary Oliver, House of Light
Beacon Press, Boston (1962)

Today is International Peace Day, as declared by the United Nations. It’s a day to highlight efforts by individuals, communities, nations and governments to end conflict and promote peace. As a parent, and midwife, my focus tends towards women and children, and an organization that I’d like to draw attention to is Women for Women. You’ll see their link at the lower right of my blog, or you can find their website here. They are a terrific organization that Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn included in their list of organizations that help women in developing countries. This list was an addendum of sorts to their heart-wrenching but very salient article in the New York Times, Saving The World’s Women: The Women’s Crusade. If you missed it, I highly recommend you read it on this day of International Peace.

Roxana Villa, natural perfumer and promoter of peace, has gathered ten of us perfume bloggers to discuss her “Perfume for Peace” (the perfume is unnamed, represented only by the peace symbol) as well as our thoughts on this day. Some proceeds from Perfume for Peace go towards helping the Peace on Earth Project come to fruition. The Peace on Earth Project aspires to be a series of concerts in sacred places all over the world, that is envisioned as a musical prayer for peace. It will also be a live concert telethon that will, “address pressing issues of hunger, poverty, shelter, health, and the safety of children worldwide.”

So how does Perfume for Peace smell? Joyous and uplifting, then moving into sublime and serene. The liquid perfume is energetic with vibrant citrus and ginger, enough to waken your senses and get you moving in the world. A gentle call to attention if you will. From this piquant, spicy citrus, emerge lovely florals and woods which was revealed to me as vintage Mysore sandalwood after I wore the fragrance for a few hours. Honestly, I would have guessed oud with its tangy yet dried woodiness. Smooth vanilla enhances the drydown, so if you like a honeyed, balsamic end to your fragrance, this Perfume for Peace might be one to consider.

Roxana has also created this in a perfume solid, which has the same notes (clementine, neroli, ginger, champa, blue lotus, vintage Mysore sandalwood, tobacco and vanilla orchid bean), but its evolution is slightly different and wears closer to the skin than the liquid perfume. It begins with that tang from the vintage Mysore sandalwood right off the bat, and the vanilla is more evident from the beginning as well. It unfurls quickly into the sweet and smooth vanilla woods that is reminiscent of Lyra. (Read here about the “ice cream cone trees” both Lyra and the Perfume for Peace remind me of). Both are beautiful creations from a gifted natural perfumer who has created a fragrance about the world that is ours, or could be.

If you leave a comment at Roxana’s blog by October 1st, you will be entered in her drawing for a sample of this Perfume for Peace. Roxana’s Perfume for Peace is available at her esty site.

Please visit the other participating blogs:

Bitter Grace Notes
Examiner, Cleveland
Examiner, Portland
Illuminated Perfume
Indie Perfumes
Memory and Desire
Perfume Shrine
Perfume Smellin’ Things
The Non-Blonde

posted by ~Trish

Peace Has Begun illustration by Greg Spalenka at etsy.com