Turnabout
Others hold fast to realty,
I prefer to dream,
Reaching beyond the real world
Into eternity ...
In my dreams, a potpourri exists
Composed of tender fragrances,
a mixture of a whiff of loving care
sprinkled with peaceful passion
A transcendence which infuses us
With grandeur past telling,
Leading upward to that time
When we are coupled in the vastness
Beyond time and space
I speak without words,
hear without sounds
Our fusion when bodies
and spirit unite, a carousel
scattering warmth and conception
Potpourri Landscape -- Karla Gerard
During the French occupation of Burgos, Spain, in the early 18th century, the troops began calling olla podrida, a local stew with a wide variety of ingredients, "pot-pourri" (rotten jar). In English "potpourri" is a mixture of dried, naturally fragrant plant material used to provide a gentle, natural scent. In early 17th-century France fresh herbs and flowers were gathered in the spring and summer, then layered with coarse sea salt after they became limp. Often the mixture would ferment or even mold, and in autumn spices would be added to the unsightly grey mix until a pleasant fragrance was achieved. Then, scent preserving fixatives such as orris root (rhizoma iridis) were added so that the scent would be absorbed for slow release. The finished pot-pourri was set out in special pots with perforated lids to perfume rooms. Oil of Orris is a yellow-white mass which contains myristic acid; other components include, fat, resin, starch, mucilage, bitter extractive, and a glucoside called Iridin (or Irisin).
ReplyDeleteAfter an initial drying period, which can take 5 years or more depending on the use, the root is ground. For potpourri, this powder is used without further processing, but in other uses it is dissolved in water and then distilled. It is an ingredient in many brands of gin.
Daginne and Jack,
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your good collaborative writing!
Duane,
Thanks for the educational follow-up descriptions of what pot pourri was/is.