Towards the end of his life, in the midst of a terrible physical and mental collapse, William Carlos Williams wrote a poem called “Asphodel, That Greeny Flower.” I have read that he was so affected by recent strokes that he had to type it with the fingers of one hand, and could barely see his progress on paper. Much of it was written while he was admitted to a mental hospital for psychiatric treatment; he had recently been designated as Poetry Consultant to the Library of Congress, and then stripped of the appointment owing to his suspected political affiliations, and his wife of many years had begun to interrogate claims of his infidelities during this time, too. Those months must have seemed, for Williams, a long night, a torturous vigil.
And yet the poem is a beautiful affirmation of love in the face of destruction.
In it, he writes:
“I have learned much in my life / from books / and out of them / about love. / Death / is not the end of it.”
Later, he writes that love’s reward “is a fairy flower; / a cat of twenty lives. / If no one came to try it / the world / would be the loser.”
(The world would be the loser!)
and
“The storm bursts / or fades! it is not / the end of the world. / Love is something else, / or so I thought it, / a garden which expands.”
Love is a garden which expands! The illogic of its boundlessness, of its perennial bloom!
The entire poem, and its construction amidst bruising adversity, moves me so deeply — the way, as I wrote recently, “life will ask a lot of you, but love will continue to provide the provisional form you need to bear through.” For Williams, that form was a triadic line.
Worth a read if you need to recenter, to let go the things pawing at your pockets today. I find its conversational style easier to digest than you might expect — it reads like a long, whispered conversation between two lovers, and this intimacy itself is a talkback to torment.
Post-Scripts.
+”The world is a mist. And then the world is vast, minute, and clear.“
+A prompt: “How do the everyday objects and sights around me model love?”
+More poetry I love here and here.
Shopping Break.
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+Currently wearing this lilac sweater — under $200 and I love the brushed/slightly fuzzy texture. I also was surprised by how easy this color was to work in with neutrals for a fall moment. Would look great with burgundy. I wore with my Brylies in the putty color, as seen here.
+Old Navy has entered the fair isle chat. Love! (More fair isle favorites here.). While at O.N., you might consider this cute dress-up tutu for your little love. Reminds me of one from Meri Meri that is more expensive — a great gift for a toddler girl.
+Two great new Tuckernuck arrivals: this olive velvet jacket and this perfect-for-Thanksgiving dress.
+But speaking of olive velvet! These Julia Amory coats are so interesting and different. (Use code JEN-15 for 15% off.). And of course love the new fall patterns of their Betty dress.
+This top handle bag is under $100 and delivers that Savette pochette look we all want.
+Alice Walk recently restocked their excellent basics. I love, and I mean love, this zip-up sweatshirt. I have it in a solid and a stripe and kind of want this new khaki color. It’s a great lightweight with a longer hemline. I like to pair these sweatshirts with the whipped track pants from Negative for the ultimate hygge / cozy moment.
+Love this magnetic cord holder for a bedside, so you aren’t fishing around looking for the end all the time!
+G Label just launched the chicest new fall/winter styles. This brand is expensive but they release staple wardrobe pieces that you reach for over and over again, season after season. I love the subtle interest they add to every piece — a longer cuff, a larger ribbed collar, a keyhole detail! Just fantastic. I love this cardigan, this cloud crewneck, and of course this leather skirt.
+You can get the leather skirt look for less with this or this.
+Target brought back its fall collab with John Derian! They’ve had a few of these over the years and I absolutely treasure the pieces I’ve purchased. My kids LOVE these spider-motif melamine plates. I keep them with our Halloween/fall decor so they only see them during the month of October, and they always beg for their breakfasts on them and fight over the one with the biggest spider. This year, I ordered these mushroom figures for fall tablescapes! Also like these green coupes (mix up this cocktail in them!) and this fun serving tray (you could give out Halloween candy on it!) If spooky’s not your speed, go with this turkey tray for Thanksgiving.
+Our children have been begging us for outdoor Halloween decorations for years now. We are such curmudgeons! So many of the folks in our neighborhood does it up with spiderwebs, dramatic lights, inflatables, etc! We finally caved and ordered these $30 skeletons. The kids love arranging them on our front stoop / front bench.
+I caved and bought my daughter these Squishmallow slippers. She is going to flip.
+The Frank and Eileen Catherine sweatpant is on sale in select colors! I love this style — have it in navy and an ice blue.