The Anathemata
The Lady of the Pool (continued)
O, they was real
bodily quicksand mammals alright, captain, though granted of a Faëry genus . . .
May be, cap-tin, may be, but—and speaking under y’r professional correction—mirages dont commonly talk, nor fetter men by the sweets of descant, let alone toss from charm’d waves kist-posies of transaccidentated spindrift, under the form and several appearances of:
the primerole an’
the primerole an’
the violet, the sweet Roman violet4
singular or entwined
with the red rose and the lily-flower
David Jones notes
4 We are said to owe the violet to the Roman Occupation.
comments
Perhaps in the textual whitespace between the previous paragraph and this one, the captain made a suggestion that the sirens may have been a mirage. In response, Elen starts on a digression, commenting on the reality of sirens. DJ note 1 to the next page explains the text here. The story of the Mary is resumed on page 147.