The Flower Duet from the opera Lakmé by Léo Delibes posted to YouTube by FrauLehmannsiehtfern
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.”
These are not natural silences — what Keats called agonie ennuyeuse (the tedious agony) — that necessary time for renewal. They are the unnatural thwarting of what struggles to come into being but cannot.” Silences, Tillie Olsen
Most of us are artistically silenced as Tillie Olsen points out, silenced by the need to earn a living (which does not necessarily make for a life), by social circumstance, by poverty, by gender and/or race. While the current economic dislocation and disruption may silence some, others may feel that now they are freed for artistic expression. After all, there is time now, if nothing else. What more can be lost and how much can be gained by the tender strategies of self-authenticity? Vacuums result from loss, and vacuums must be filled. At best, they are filled consciously and selectively.For some this may mean creating art. For others it may mean taking the time to enjoy someone else’s creations.
These new-born artist heroes will not worry that like the poet’s flower they may “blush unseen, and waste [their] sweetness on the desert air.” The expression, the experience, will be seen as more important than or of primary importance over fame, fortune, and ultimate demise. They will “bloom where they are planted,” which involves a certain vulnerability when it comes to art. So be it…That’s part of what makes them heroes. While we will never hear of some of these intrepid artists or art devotees, still I venture to say that soon there will be new blossoms to pick at bookstores, art galleries, and concert halls.
