"the goal of living is to grow)"

Poem
in the time of daffodils - e.e. cummings

in time of daffodils(who know
the goal of living is to grow)
forgetting why, remember how

in time of lilacs who proclaim
the aim of waking is to dream,
remember so(forgetting seem)

in time of roses(who amaze
our now and here with paradise)
forgetting if,remember yes

in time of all sweet things beyond
whatever mind may comprehend,
remember seek(forgetting find)

and in a mystery to be
(when time from time shall set us free)
forgetting me,remember me

Beverage
Martha Stouman Honeymoon 2022

I would absolutely pair this white wine with the following perfume. 55% Colombard, 45% Chardonnay. I love Martha Stouman wines. They're so consistently good in a world of natural wines that are often... not consistent. Or not good.

This one has good acidity and fruit, but it isn't just high-toned. There's a nice roundness to the body, almost honeyed. But not syrupy or bloated for a single second.

I shared a bottle of this on a restaurant patio at dusk, and I think that was close to ideal. I think this is a perfect after-dark white, too. I would love to have it at a fancy AirBnB, on a terrace with bistro lights, grazing on whatever little snacks and leftovers were in the fridge, or on a decrepit deck or rusty fire escape, in a juice glass and with a sunburn. It has a satisfying nature that I think people often only attribute to the really big whites — like some oaked-to-hell Chard that I'd hate or some rich Vouvray with a little age on it that I'd love — while still retaining a lot of brightness. Actually, it would probably suit a dry Vouvray crowd well.

I might try to track a bottle down before the long weekend. Highly recommend for fireworks, I think.

There had been some talk that the MS wines were not what they had been when she first burst onto the scene, that the vintages were less exciting, blah blah blah, I don't care.

Martha!! She has done it yet again!!

Scent
Ellis Brooklyn SWEET

Per the Internet: "SWEET is inspired by the E.E. Cummings poem 'In Time of Daffodils.' Though the poem was published in 1958, the spirit of the poem is still so powerfully relevant today, which is that daffodils 'who know the goal of living is to grow.'"

So you got this poem today. Not my usual fare to go e.e. cummings, but I am not mad about it.

This isn't a floral, despite the daffodil reference. It's really ripe and warm and easy. Like, light enough to wear out to eat when you'll be drinking wine without worrying about it blowing your palate apart. You could absolutely layer it, and I think I will be trying that to give it a little more depth. I like this one a surprising amount.

Now playing via Spotify "daylist"

another old but great one

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Other things

a big knot

the knot is still a big knot

my friend Claire's occasional newsletter

Claire and I met briefly in DC in the basement of St. Dominic's which is in a weird, weird part of the city near L'Enfant Plaza. It's one of those places in DC that was sliced up by the highway projects, leaving it almost a dead zone. Those are some of my favorite places in that city, strangely. Little jewels of secret neighborhoods that you either end up in entirely by accident or with a very clear purpose.

Anyway, Claire and I then ended up in the same grad program to become teachers, and now neither of us are in classrooms. Claire has a newsletter that she sends sometimes, and that newsletter had a particularly beautiful edition this evening.

Give it a read, it's absolutely better than this newsletter.

I want a Compost the State shirt now, and I also love urgent sky, which reminds me of my friend Lydia saying hot clouds. The sky!

Here's an Instagram art post about the sky.

Claire also talks about feeling betrayed by her body last winter, and I have been thinking a lot about how little I listened to my body while I was teaching. I had pneumonia twice in like 15 months + multiple odd and unexplained occurrences (ulnar neuropathy? this weird lump on my collarbone that was ultimately nothing?) + terrible inflammation + massive flareups of long-known chronic issues + some weird dental and periodontal stuff. I think I had started to consider myself someone who was just not in good health and accept that the norm was feeling generally unwell, even though I still exercised, tried to get decent sleep, etc.

Then I stopped teaching, and over the last three years, my health has been honestly great despite having had covid twice, including once in Croatia which was treated solely with weird teas and paracetamol. I have had the energy to address some underlying chronic issues, haven't had anything new come up, and I think I would say I am in better health than I was before teaching and maybe even before going to grad school, when I was deep into running.

Anyway, I've been thinking about how all of those things when I was teaching were pretty loud messages that I just mostly ignored. Have I learned the lesson? Time will tell, I guess. I am really grateful to feel healthy again, so I hope I remember??

That is not what Claire's newsletter is about.

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Carts online

For about a year, I have wanted to purchase mesh dancewear from Jule Dance, which I stumbled across without intention. I just have this vision of myself going to a Pilates class in one of these, in winter with boots and a big coat over the top when I have to go back into the world. The temptation remains!! I am becoming a loose pants/giant tee or unitard/sweatshirt person at yoga, but there is something about going to a Reformer class that draws out my desire to wear something more... like this.

[black / ocean]

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