John Russell, Peonies and Head of a Woman (c.1887) |
Paul Muldoon’s poem “Bramleys, Not Grenadiers,” in the September 24, 2020, New York Review of Books, is delightful. I particularly like the lines about the use of pantyhose to tie the trees’ branches to the stake:
to which the branches are bound with pantyhose
to allow for a little give and take.
Lorna and I use old pantyhose to wrap her mother’s peony bushes tight so we can fit the wire cages over them. When the cages are in place, we undo the pantyhose and remove it. It’s an old trick we learned from her mother. I’ve often thought that “Peonies & Pantyhose” would make a great title for a poem or short story.
Muldoon’s use of pantyhose in his poem is inspired!
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