“Marriages have stages. They have incarnations, almost,” Mercy explains. “You can be in a good marriage and you can be in a bad marriage, and they can both be the same one but just at different times.”
from French Braid, by Anne Tyler, 2022
one person’s weeds,
are another person’s flowers
she is rusty, worn, tired—
and still,
beautiful
Sometimes when the cuckoo’s crying
When the moon is halfway down
Sometimes when the night is dying
I take me out and I wander around…
from the song Sugar Magnolia, 1970, written by Robert Hunter and Bob Weir, performed by Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead
tulips and roses and hot pink carnations,
books and puzzles and jars of fig honey,
gnomes and unicorns and blue lava lamps
joy can be found in unexpected places
the sun rose, wrapped tightly within the silence of the morning fog
If you’re a thought you will want me to think you
Lyrics from the song and album entitled, Scarlet’s Walk by Tori Amos, 2002
The gentle and whimsical blooms of the dogwood tree look delicate, but the wood of its trunk is strong and durable. Victorian lovers used this flower to indicate that their love could endure any trial.
from Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Language of Flowers by Jessica Roux
soft, green velvet
and sparkling emeralds,
deep green glass,
and thick forest landscapes,
leaves and trees and seeds,
and petals made of mystical jade,
fine, long feathers and
rolling fields of fragrant sage
spanishwoods 