Moonlight
July 6, 2023Beechwoods at Knole
July 6, 2023Days I enjoy
Days I enjoy are days when nothing happens,
When I have no engagements written on my block,
When no one comes to disturb my inward peace,
When no one comes to take me away from myself
And turn me into a patchwork, a jig-saw puzzle,
A broken mirror that once gave a whole reflection,
Being so contrived that it takes too long a time
To get myself back to myself when they have gone.
The years are too strickly measured, and life too short
For me to afford such bits of myself to my friends.
And what have I to give my friends in the last resort?
An awkwardness, a shyness, and a scrap,
No thing that’s truly me, a bootless waste,
A waste of myself and them, for my life is mine
And theirs presumably theirs, and cannot touch.
Victoria Sackville-West
Victoria Sackville-West (1892-1962) was an English poet, novelist, and gardener who is perhaps best known for her work as a garden designer. She was a prolific writer and produced many works of fiction and non-fiction over the course of her career. Sackville-West's poetry was characterized by a love of nature and a keen sense of observation, and her writing often explored themes of love and loss. She was also a noted horticulturalist and was instrumental in the creation of the famous garden at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, England.