{hyacinths}
{hyacinths}
Partly because the smell is intoxicating and partly because of The Wasteland, which is also where the name of the blog comes from, in case you ever wondered.
| 'You gave me hyacinths first a year ago; | 35 |
| 'They called me the hyacinth girl.' | |
| —Yet when we came back, late, from the Hyacinth garden, | |
| Your arms full, and your hair wet, I could not | |
| Speak, and my eyes failed, I was neither | |
| Living nor dead, and I knew nothing, | 40 |
| Looking into the heart of light, the silence. | |
| Od' und leer das Meer. |
Isn't it funny how lines sometimes speak to us? I first read this when I was sixteen, and my heart jumped. I still can't explain the completely visceral reaction I have to this particular stanza - poetry is a bit like love, I think. Sometimes your heart knows before your head has even had a chance to get in on the game.
I love the scent of hyacinths, it's beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures and lovely words. Happy Friday!
ReplyDeleteI loved this poem when we studied it in my philosophy class in high school. I remember us (i.e. the teacher, hah) extracting meanings from lines that I never would have thought of. That part really intrigues me about poetry...
ReplyDelete*goosebumps*
ReplyDeleteyes... i once heard that poetry should be felt first and understood later. thanks for sharing such a lovely moment.
ReplyDeletesuch an exceptional excerpt and i love that it was the source of inspiration for your blog's name.
ReplyDeletebeautiful.
ReplyDeletegorgeous! i love tulips myself...but really, any fresh flower will make me happy.
ReplyDeletei so agree about poetry. and i never knew but know i'm glad i know - that is so beautiful.
ReplyDeletei was a tulip girl for a long time...now, i think i love them all.
I lurv t.s. eliot. the name of my tiny venture comes from meaningful verse, too!
ReplyDeleteOh I LOVE knowing where your blog title comes from! The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock is my absolute favorite Eliot poem, and I had a really similar experience reading it in high school the way you did with Waste Land. And now I'll think of hyacinths in a new light (although they are one of my favorite harbingers of spring!) xo
ReplyDeleteThat is a beautiful poem. And those hyacinths are lovely. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteThe poem is beautiful. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful flowers - I could never get tired of hyacinths. I love the Wasteland, I've been reading it recently and every time I come back to it i gain something new. Wonderful. If you are a TS Eliot fan you might very well enjoy reading this.....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/04/to-all-pollicle-dogs-and-jellicle-cats.html
I need to really start bringing flowers home more often. They often make my day :)
ReplyDeleteSooo true. Just gorgeous all around (flowers, words, photos). :)
ReplyDeleteThey are so beautiful. I had never heard that poem thankyou for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely. You can study art and literature in and out, learn to understand and appreciate it better. But what you love and why you love it is ineffable.
ReplyDeleteI knew your blog name was a T.S.Eliot reference. It always made me happy. You know Beckett was very inspired by this poem too :)
Another hyacinth lover. Hurray. I love them too, along with all the other smelly flowers - lilac, lily of the valley, roses ..... But I think hyacinth are the most unappreciated.
ReplyDeleteI have long loved this about you.
ReplyDeleteI like the way E.D. puts it best--that she knows its poetry when she feels as though the top of her head has been taken off. It is that way, like love.
Lovely photos, lovely poem.
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful floral arrangement. Also, I love The Wasteland too. I think it changed my life a little bit.
ReplyDelete