Irises

Iris, a poem by William Carlos Williams, is a celebration of our senses.

Iris

Bearded Iris

a burst of iris so that
come down for
breakfast

we searched through the
rooms for
that

sweetest odor and at
first could not
find its

source then a blue as
of the sea
struck

startling us from among
those trumpeting
petals

Williams' opening line a burst of iris stimulates a search for the sweetest odor that, in turn, reveals a blue as of the sea. Williams closes his poem with trumpeting petals, a word implying shape and sound.

Irises

Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh created Irises during the last year of his life while living in an asylum. He called Irises,

"the lightning conductor for my illness"

Van Gogh felt by continuing to paint that he could avert succumbing to insanity.

It strikes the eye from afar. The Irises are a beautiful study full of air and life.
― Theo van Gogh in a letter to Vincent upon seeing Irises exhibited

Irises are perennials that shoot upward from creeping rhizomes. A rhizome is a subterranean stem that sends out roots perpendicular to the force of gravity while also sending up vertical shoots to greet the sunlight of Spring.

With carefully chosen words William Carlos Williams devoted attention to the obvious and the overlooked. Williams, like impressionist Vincent van Gogh, devoted time to experiencing the subtleties of the senses.

The natural world is indifferent to our inattentiveness, but also rewards the slightest attention with the sublimest of experiences.

Nobody sees a flower - really - it is so small it takes time - we haven't time - and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.
― Georgia O'Keeffe

REFERENCES

• Iris (plant), Wikipedia.
• Irises (painting), Wikipedia.
• Georgia O'Keeffe, by Georgia O'Keeffe.
• William Carlos Williams, by William Carlos Williams, Christopher John MacGowan, Robert Crockett.