Friday, August 08, 2008

Friday's Flowers: Queen Anne's Lace

Her body is not so white as
anemone petals nor so smooth--nor
so remote a thing.

It is a field
of the wild carrot taking
the field by force; the grass
does not raise above it.

Here is no question of whiteness,
white as can be, with a purple mole
at the center of each flower.

Each flower is a hand’s span
of her whiteness. Wherever
his hand has lain there is
a tiny purple blemish.

Each part is a blossom under his touch
to which the fibres of her being
stem one by one, each to its end,
until the whole field is a
white desire,

empty, a single stem,
a cluster, flower by flower,
a pious wish to whiteness gone over--
or nothing.

William Carlos Williams

4 comments:

IrishGirlieKnits said...

Breathtaking! Again!!

Can't wait for Friday's flowers in the fall!! Leaves please!!

Leslie said...

How beautiful! I've enjoyed so many photos of these flowers online this summer. Yours are wonderful, as is the poem. (I quoted this same poet earlier this summer with a poem about wheat!)

hearthead said...

WOW!

needlefingers said...

Hello,

I just wanted you to thank you for bringing beauty to the Blogosphere.

http://needlefingers.blog-city.com/arte_who.htm

I look forward to seeing the items you coordinate with each pair of socks.

Thanks so much for sharing the loveliness!

Kristi aka Needlefingers