“My poems are hymns of praise to the glory of life.” ~Dame Edith Sitwell
“Poetry ennobles the heart and the eyes, and unveils the meaning of all things upon which the heart and the eyes dwell. It discovers the secret rays of the universe, and restores to us forgotten paradises.” ~Dame Edith Sitwell
“The poet speaks to all men of that other life of theirs that they have smothered and forgotten.” ~Dame Edith Sitwell
“As for the usefulness of poetry, its uses are many. It is the deification of reality.” ~Dame Edith Sitwell
We lost three hedge rose bushes last winter. I asked my horticulturalist-sister why; and she said the demise of the bushes might have been caused by any number of reasons: a particularly harsh frost or a bug infestation; but, suffice it to say, they were missed. A barren patch along the southern hill of our domicile was a continual reminder of their once delightful presence. Eventually, by August, ivy filled in where they once were, and the lovely pink blooms of earlier years were forgotten as Black-eyed Susans, cone flowers, and other delightful flowers arrived in the garden. However, over the weekend I spotted a dot of pink in the ivy where the roses once were; and, yes, to our collective delight, it was the roses making a comeback, breaking out, as a Dame Edith Sitwell.
The Catholic English poet Dame Edith (b. 1887- d. 1967) noted that art would break out of her after long periods of absence (paraphrase, Dame Edith Sitwell); and it could be likened to the fire of God: an untamed creative process that originates in God. I thought of her when I spotted the pale pink beauties which were breaking out. Dame Edith said:
“The great sins and fires break out of me like the terrible leaves from the bough in the violent spring. I am a walking fire, I am all leaves.” (1952, from Selected Poems)
And, so, for today, I am linking to the following: it is a bit I wrote of Dame Edith, and I think our newer readers will enjoy learning of this walking fire (link, here).
May you have a good day, especially as it is the feast of Our Lady of Ransom.
~SCF
~Image: by J. David, September 2019, roses in September.
~Interesting fact: the papers of Dame Edith Sitwell are kept at the University of Texas Austin, link.
~Read more about Dame Edith: the Catholic writer Joseph Pearce wrote a piece about Dame Edith, here
