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Bringing Flowers

Loved these lines William Mcfee's essay The Market - Roses just now predominate. There is a satisfying solidity about the bunches, a glorious abundance which, in a commodity so easily enjoyed without ownership, is scarcely credible. I feel no desire to own these huge aggregations of odorous beauty. It would be like owning a harem, one imagines.

The exactly describes how I feel in a florist shop or in a flower market. Being around the abundance is plenty gratifying. Bringing it all home would turn the living room to a funeral parlor. One or two bouquets would be the limit. That requires the process of eliminating a hundred other excellent options to bring something home that has already started to die and will complete the process while I am watching. I don't see the benefit of that at all. The flowers are in a better place where they are, their beauty enhanced by the abundance that will be stripped away once separated from the crowd.

The only flowers I have ever bought for the house are from the grocery store flower stand. It seems to fill the utilitarian need of bring life and color to my living space, much along the lines of filling the fridge and pantry with what food. 


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