#189: On flower moons and moonflowers
"The moon looks upon many night flowers; the night flowers see but one moon." -Jean Ingelow ·
Hello!
I couldn’t see the moon last night or today thanks to Bangalore’s sporadic rains. But last night was the Super Flower Blood Moon lunar eclipse. A moment of appreciation for the universe and its splendid cosmic phenomena.
As I feel more authentic in my skin, more accepting and nurturing of my inner child, the more I realize how much of a moon gazer and flower adorer I am. I’m trying to pinpoint definite moment when both these offerings of Mother Nature became life obsessions. With the moon, I think it was when I read Silver by Walter de la Mare, followed by umpteen nights lying in the middle of the footfall field at Rishi Valley, soaking up the moonshine and waiting on shooting stars. When it comes to flowers, the smell of plumerias come rushing back like a memory imprinted in my olfactory mind. Ma and I picking up fallen plumerias in the gardens of the Horticultural Society of India, Calcutta. Ma taught me the etiquette and joys of flower loving, how not to pluck a flower so others can enjoy it, how to find delight in living with flowers…And for this and so many other things, I love her more and remain grateful forever.
*
As Oscar Wilde aptly said,
"With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon who could not be happy?"
I invite you, dear reader, to look up and see if you can spot the moon, to go wish the flowers asleep in your balcony a good night, and to read these poems about flowers and the moon that offered me light. It’s my prescription for tonight.
Poetry Corner
This painting by Rebecca Orcutt felt perfect for today’s poems, given the moon-like plate and pretty flowers in the vase. 🌼 🌸 🌝🌷
1. Some Nights by Kate Baer
Some nights she walks out to the
driveway where the lilacs blooms and
lies down on the warm pavement even
though the neighbors will see and wonder
what kind of woman does such things.
There she stares up at the slender moon
and thinks about the baby albatross filled
with discarded spoons or the time a friend
asked what she was working on these days
and she answered, "Who has the time?"
even though she meant something else
entirely.
Across the lawn the crickets sing while the
earth lets out its tired breath and wanders
through the trees to greet her.
2. The Moon Flower by Lala Fisher
I know a valley-- through its solitude
A brown road winds towards a mountain crest;
There gnarly ti-trees dripping sweetness rest,
And grasses bend, too heavily bedowed.
In that still valley by the still lagoon,
A ruined homestead for her secret shrine,
Dwells Beauty's self, half-earthly, half-devine--
Thrilling, I saw her waken to the moon.
In peaks of emerald the cactus crept,
And there o'er rafters falling to decay,
A miracle of flowers, spray on spray,
Burst into perfect life while nature slept.
First a slim silver riband from the sky
Uncurled green fronds from each imprisoned bud,
Then, one by one, bathed in the beaming flood,
Like ghost-notes in a spirit litany.
They blossomed out before my eyes,
Great chalices of snow filled up with light;
Set in the mystic radiance of night
They seemed a vision from immortal skies.
Hidden in shadow near the still lagoon
Nightly I worship at a secret shrine,
There on a ruin-- lily-white, devine,
Is beauty lying naked to the moon!
3. haiku by Jack Kerouac
The Spring moon -
How many miles away
Those orange blossoms!
4. The Lilies by Karenne Wood
When I learned I might have cancer,
I bought fifteen white lilies. Easter was gone:
the trumpets were wilted, plants crooked with roots
bound in pots. I dug them into the garden,
knowing they would not bloom for another year.
All summer, the stalks stood like ramshackle posts
while I waited for results. By autumn, the stalks
had flopped down. More biopsies, laser incisions,
the cancer in my tongue a sprawling mass. Outside,
the earth remained bare, rhizomes shrunken
below the frost line. Spring shoots appeared
in bright green skins, and lilies bloomed
in July, their waxed trumpets pure white,
dusting gold pollen to the ground.
This year,
tripled in number, they are popping up again. I wait,
a ceremony, for the lilies to open, for the serpentine length
of the garden to bloom in the shape of my tongue’s scar,
a white path with one end leading into brilliant air,
the other down the throat’s canyon, black
and unforgiving. I try to imagine
what could grow in such darkness. I am waiting
for the lilies to open.
5. Getting Up Early by Anne Porter
Just as the night was fading
Into the dusk of morning
When the air was cool as water
When the town was quiet
And I could hear the sea
I caught sight of the moon
No higher than the roof-tops
Our neighbor the moon
An hour before the sunrise
She glowed with her own sunrise
Gold in the grey of morning
World without town or forest
Without wars or sorrows
She paused between two trees
And it was as if in secret
Not wanting to be seen
She chose to visit us
So early in the morning.
Recommended Listening
ithinkiminlovebutiwontletme - jeevan antony (a tender song by one of my dearest friends. so happy to see your flower face out in the world, jeeva!)
Links of the Week
“Each day, I arrived at the loom with little expectation and instead, I granted myself permission to play and experiment…I felt motivated to make new work with different colors, textures and forms that resulted. I let go of perfection in the process.”
-Textile artist Jessie Mordine Young on her 100-day weaving challenge4 loops that cause creative struggle (I feel seen)
sweethearts (A poetic experiment unlike any I’ve seen before. Please refer to the Instructions for Use for full appreciation)
Thermae Romae Novae (This show was my first encounter with anime and I’m utterly in love. A must watch bathhouse comedy.)
I want to get my hands on Popular Pandemics! (The type, art and premise of a magazine that gives readers a preview of the world to come has me hooked.)
Pratham Books Essentials
I’m working on a children’s book with the lovely folks at Pratham Books, which comes out later this month! Felt like sharing some of my favorites from their fabulous collection that stayed with me:
The Big Book of Boochandis (Written by Pavithra Sankaran, Illustrated by Rucha Dhayarkar)
Home (Written by Fausto Aarya De Santis, Illustrated by Ogin Nayam)
The Secret World of Mehlli Gobhai: The Man Who Found Art Everywhere (Written by Jerry Pinto, Illustrated by Kripa B, Paintings by Mehlli Gobhai)
Who Stole Bhaiya's Smile? (Written by Sanjana Kapur, Illustrated by Sunaina Coelho)
Chuchu Manthu's Jar of Toffees (Written by Adithi Rao, Illustrated by Krishna Bala Shenoi)
Asamo, is that you? (Written and illustrated by Canato Jimo and Ogin Nayam)
Dugga (Written and illustrated by Rajiv Eipe)
Beauty Is Missing (Written and illustrated by Priya Kuriyan)
My City, My Dogs (Written by Abodh Aras, Illustrated by Sumedha Sah, Photographs by Hashim Badani)
Classifieds: The Alipore Post x Atoms
Today’s newsletter was sponsored by Atoms, a young, minimalist footwear brand in New York. The founders Sidra Qasim and Waqas Ali started Atoms with the simple desire to build the best shoe. A short Q & A with the founders:
Why did you launch Atoms?
Sidra and Waqas (S & W): We had a shoe company in our home country of Pakistan but the American shoe market is far more casual. We set out to build the ideal everyday shoe with the same founding principles around craftsmanship and creativity.
How are you building a company that matters?
S & W: We’ve spent the last four years building a community from the ground up around the product. Our goal was to establish a group of people who loved the brand over higher sales numbers from people who kind of liked us. Those relationships we’ve made have not only allowed us to survive the pandemic as a small company and a new brand but have also influenced the products and experience itself. When we do things, we don’t think of a type of person who would use it. We think of a specific person and then go wider because we become a company that matters to them.
What inspires you to design shoes?
S & W: Shoes are something that many people view as a basic item but integral to everything we do. There are a ton of specific products like running, basketball, and dance shoes we could focus on but we feel as though there is still a ton of work to do for everyday shoes. I’m sure you've gotten home from a long day and the first thing you do is take off your shoes and immediately feel better. That moment should never happen. That’s you saying that you've reached your limit with that product and it is now holding you back from doing the things you want to do.
“Make things you want to see; learn about yourself and the world; put on your own shows; make your friends laugh; try not to drive yourself nuts or be too hard on yourself; try to be a good person; do what it is you feel like you should be doing.”
-Nathaniel Russell
May we all figure out what we love to do and do it.
Sending moonlight and tenderness your way,
Rohini