The balsam has begun blooming in its bed in my yard. It started with the palest of pink blooms, and now a Pepto-Bismal peppermint pink has also opened. Hot pink is next, still tightly curled in its buds, but soon to unfurl.
This is a flower from Victorian gardens, from Emily Dickinson's garden. It is sensitive of seed pod, known as touch-me-not in some circles because the seeds will explode from the pod if touched. It is generous of frilly bloom. Its edges are like the ruffles on some lingerie sold in Victoria's Secret catalogs.
You will want to read or listen to Billy Collins's poem "Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes," perhaps, on this Sunday morning. If so, here it is at the
Writer's Almanac.
To get the book it's in, you can go
here, or find it also in
Picnic, Lightning. To purchase the lingerie, go
here. I don't know about those shoes. They scare me.
8 comments:
Oh, Kathleen. First hedgehogs and now frilly flowers & frilly lingerie. I can't imagine what your stats are going to look like today!!!
I have fun in life. It counters the frustration of headers, footers, page numbering, and so forth...
consider a post about a hedgehog in frilly lingerie...or would that be going too far?
Sounds hilarious. Possibly next Slattern Day!
I love hedgehogs, mostly because of the Grimm Bros. story "Hans, my Hedgehog." Victoria's Secret and that particular B. Collins poem I like less.
Yes, the poem about the catalog is not a favorite of mine, but I do like the Emily one. I will seek out the Grimm hedgehog!
I'm afraid my moratorium on poems with "Emily Dickinson" in the title still stands. Not even by Billy Collins gets a bye.
That's OK by me, Cathy.
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