Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Charles Olson’s "Perfume / Of Flowers! A Haw" is a brief yet evocative meditation on the sensuality and transience of love, expressed through the imagery of flowers and natural scents. In its simplicity, the poem captures a moment of arresting beauty and emotional resonance, aligning love with the fleeting yet profound presence of perfume.

The opening exclamation, "The perfume of flowers!" immediately immerses the reader in a sensory experience. Olson sets the tone of the poem by invoking the intangible yet potent presence of fragrance, which becomes a metaphor for love itself—elusive, fleeting, and deeply affecting. The use of an exclamation underscores the speaker’s sudden and intense engagement with the world, emphasizing the power of the natural world to evoke emotional and physical responses.

The "haw," often associated with hawthorn trees, introduces a note of specificity and connection to the landscape. Hawthorn trees are traditionally linked to themes of love and protection in folklore, making their presence in the poem particularly significant. The haw’s "odour" is not merely a pleasant scent but a force so powerful that it "stops me in the wall of its fall." This striking line portrays the scent as something physical and almost overwhelming, a phenomenon that arrests the speaker both physically and emotionally. The "wall of its fall" suggests a cascading, inescapable quality, as though the perfume engulfs the speaker, much like love itself can overwhelm and consume.

The phrase "Love arrests" functions as both a declarative statement and a thematic pivot. Love, like the perfume, halts the speaker in their tracks, creating a moment of stillness and contemplation. The verb "arrests" suggests both the act of stopping and the idea of being captured or held, implying that love exerts a controlling, almost immobilizing force. The brevity of the line mirrors the abruptness of the experience, emphasizing its intensity and immediacy.

The second stanza expands on this sensory immersion, introducing "lime-trees" that "saturate the night." The image of lime trees, whose blossoms are known for their intoxicating scent, reinforces the theme of love as a pervasive and enveloping presence. The saturation of the night suggests an all-encompassing atmosphere, where the natural world and the emotions of the speaker blend seamlessly. The act of walking through this fragrant night further underscores a sense of movement and journey, both literal and metaphorical. The path becomes not just a physical trail but a symbolic journey through love and its associated sensations.

The concluding lines, "jonquils fill the air. / Love is a scent," succinctly tie the poem’s sensory and emotional threads together. Jonquils, a type of narcissus, are traditionally associated with desire, affection, and the promise of renewal. Their fragrance, which "fills the air," becomes a metaphor for love’s intangible yet pervasive nature. By stating "Love is a scent," Olson distills the essence of the poem into a single, resonant idea. Love, like a perfume, is ephemeral—it cannot be grasped or held, but it lingers, leaves its mark, and alters the space it inhabits.

The structure of the poem mirrors its thematic content. Its brevity and sparseness reflect the fleeting nature of both scent and love. The language is direct and unadorned, yet rich with sensory detail, allowing the reader to fully inhabit the speaker’s experience. The absence of complex punctuation or elaborate syntax gives the poem a fluid, natural rhythm, echoing the flow of a scent carried by the breeze.

Olson’s choice to frame love through the metaphor of perfume emphasizes its transient and immaterial qualities. Scent, like love, is invisible yet deeply felt, capable of triggering memories and emotions with a power that is both subtle and profound. This comparison aligns with Olson’s broader poetic philosophy, which often seeks to root abstract concepts in physical, sensory experiences. Here, love is not an idea or an emotion in isolation; it is something experienced through the body, through the act of walking, breathing, and sensing.

"Perfume / Of Flowers! A Haw" captures the essence of love’s fleeting yet transformative power. Through its vivid imagery and concise form, the poem invites readers to consider the ways in which love, like a scent, can saturate and shape our experiences, even as it eludes permanence. It is a celebration of the beauty found in moments of sensory and emotional connection, a reminder to pause and inhabit the richness of the present.

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