poetry

On Winter’s Margin

On winter’s margin, see the small birds now
With half-forged memories come flocking home
To gardens famous for their charity.
The green globe’s broken; vines like tangled veins
Hang at the entrance to the silent wood.

With half a loaf, I am the prince of crumbs;
By snow’s down, the birds amassed will sing
Like children for their sire to walk abroad!
But what I love, is the gray stubborn hawk
Who floats alone beyond the frozen vines;

And what I dream of are the patient deer
Who stand on legs like reeds and drink that wind; –
They are what saves the world: who choose to grow
Thin to a starting point beyond this squalor.

~by Mary Oliver

Image: Barn Owls by Hadley Hutton

22159697_ff2ac9f924

Testament

Oh, let it be a night of lyric rain
And singing breezes, when my bell is tolled.
I have so loved the rain that I would hold
Last in my ears its friendly, dim refraln.
I shall lie cool and quiet, who have lain
Fevered, and watched the book of day unfold.
Death will not see me flinch; the heart is bold
That pain has made incapable of pain.

Kinder the busy worms than ever love;
It will be peace to lie there, empty-eyed,
My bed made secret by the leveling showers,
My breast replenishing the weeds above.
And you will say of me, “Then has she died?
Perhaps I should have sent a spray of flowers.”

Dorothy Parker

I had read that Lyric Rain is an intensely strong patchouli perfume, so when I experienced a saturated stargazer lily quality for the first hour, I was taken aback. It was as if the giant flower were hanging from my neck, like an albatross. For me, stargazer lilies are dead weight in a room. Suffocating in their pungent nature, leaving no room for any other olfactory experience. This association might not make a lot of sense, but that was my intuitive response. One that was probably reacting to the highly potent patchouli and jasmine blend. But as the experience finally settled, or maybe lifted is a better word, the patchouli became more clear and also more soft.

Lyric Rain took on a lovely vintage perfume essence with soothing jasmine flourishes. But keep in mind, this “mellowing” of the patchouli is in comparison to its overbearing beginning. Lyric Rain is a patchouli scent through and through. I’m not sure this would be the fragrance to turn a non-patchouli person into the patchouli lover they want to become. But if you adore patchouli, this glorious gem will evolve on your skin and allow you to experience your beloved patchouli in new ways.

The above Dorothy Parker poem inspired Alexandra Balahoutis, founder and perfumer of Strange Invisible Perfumes, to create Lyric Rain. As an interesting side-note, I read the poem after I had the stargazer lily association. Lilies are so often funeral flowers. The flowers we bring to graves, and this poem clearly is about making peace with death, and one’s own burial. Maybe that is why this perfume is so laden with patchouli. Ms. Balahoutis possibly wanted to stir the wetness of the earth, which patchouli certainly evokes. And jasmine echoes the pungent nature of lilies, and also the vintage nature of Ms. Parker’s poem. The mix of poetry and perfume is intriguing and emotive. For a wonderful exploration of the relationship between poetry and perfume, please take a peek at this blog that is no longer active, but certainly thought provoking and beautiful.

Lyric Rain is available at Strange Invisible Perfumes and only in the parfum concentration.

Strange Invisible Perfumes does not use any synthetically derived chemicals and all of their products are crafted solely from ingredients found in nature. They use organic beverage-grade grape alcohol as the base for their perfumes. 85-100% of their product is organic and they use organic ingredients whenever possible. Please see their site for more on their green mission.

posted by ~Trish

photograph by shteve on flickr