I love the poem, “Sea Lily,” by Hilda Doolittle because she hits on a theme that has completely enveloped my life. The thought that hardships create beauty or that places of pressure create growth is something I really identify with. In the poem, Hilda Doolittle uses a ton of imagery entertaining the idea of cutting away. It’s in this slashing and cutting that vulnerability is revealed. Vulnerability is beautiful. The idea that I can reveal my whole self is incredibly appealing. I think that is the heart cry of every person on this earth. To be fully known and fully loved. It’s in that vulnerability that I am strongest. I love the idea that weathering can turn me into something positive. Weathering creates beauty.
“REED,
slashed and torn
but doubly rich—
such great heads as yours
drift upon temple-steps,
but you are shattered
in the wind.
Myrtle-bark
is flecked from you,
scales are dashed
from your stem,
sand cuts your petal,
furrows it with hard edge,
like flint
on a bright stone.
Yet though the whole wind
slash at your bark,
you are lifted up,
aye—though it hiss
to cover you with froth”