Carrying bouquet, and handkerchief, and gloves,
Proud of her height as when she lived, she moves
With all the careless and high-stepping grace,
And the extravagant courtesan’s thin face.
Was slimmer waist e’er in a ball-room wooed?
Her floating robe, in royal amplitude,
Falls in deep folds around a dry foot, shod
With a bright flower-like shoe that gems the sod.
The swarms that hum about her collar-bones
As the lascivious streams caress the stones,
Conceal from every scornful jest that flies,
Her gloomy beauty; and her fathomless eyes
Are made of shade and void; with flowery sprays
Her skull is wreathed artistically, and sways,
Feeble and weak, on her frail vertebrae.
O charm of nothing decked in folly! they
Who laugh and name you a Caricature,
They see not, they whom flesh and blood allure,
The nameless grace of every bleached, bare bone,
That is most dear to me, tall skeleton!
Come you to trouble with your potent sneer
The feast of Life! or are you driven here,
To Pleasure’s Sabbath, by dead lusts that stir
And goad your moving corpse on with a spur?
Or do you hope, when sing the violins,
And the pale candle-flame lights up our sins,
To drive some mocking nightmare far apart,
And cool the flame hell lighted in your heart?
Fathomless well of fault and foolishness!
Eternal alembic of antique distress!
Still o’er the curved, white trellis of your sides
The sateless, wandering serpent curls and glides.
And truth to tell, I fear lest you should find,
Among us here, no lover to your mind;
Which of these hearts beat for the smile you gave?
The charms of horror please none but the brave.
Your eyes’ black gulf, where awful broodings stir,
Brings giddiness; the prudent reveller
Sees, while a horror grips him from beneath,
The eternal smile of thirty-two white teeth.
For he who has not folded in his arms
A skeleton, nor fed on graveyard charms,
Recks not of furbelow, or paint, or scent,
When Horror comes the way that Beauty went.
O irresistible, with fleshless face,
Say to these dancers in their dazzled race:
“Proud lovers with the paint above your bones,
Ye shall taste death, musk scented skeletons!
Withered Antinoüs, dandies with plump faces,
Ye varnished cadavers, and grey Lovelaces,
Ye go to lands unknown and void of breath,
Drawn by the rumour of the Dance of Death.
From Seine’s cold quays to Ganges’ burning stream,
The mortal troupes dance onward in a dream;
They do not see, within the opened sky,
The Angel’s sinister trumpet raised on high.
In every clime and under every sun,
Death laughs at ye, mad mortals, as ye run;
And oft perfumes herself with myrrh, like ye
And mingles with your madness, irony!
A gloriously elegant representation of Lady Death. Dry, bone-white orris, black musk, serpentine patchouli and our murkiest myrrh.
ksdmediamania –
Beautiful patchouli scent, dynamic and complex yet simple and classic. Love it. Like a sophisticated woman
minikadomi –
Perfect combination of patchouli’s earthiness and non-gourmand sweetness. This one should never be discontinued.
Krystyn –
This is my all time, ride or die, bury me in this scent please scent! The bourbon vanilla and amber are strongest of me with patchouli pulling up the rear. It’s dark, sexy, incense-y and earthy, I’m on my second bottle since the launch-it’s become my signature scent and I hope it never goes away. The compliments roll in everyday! Thank you BPAL!
dinnercakes –
I’m on my second bottle. My BPALs usually last me quite a while, but this has become my signature scent. I never thought anything would replace Ouija, but here we are. It’s so good that my MiL, who is very politically conservative, has asked for a bottle of her own for Christmas. I told her the name and the associated charities, and she said, “I don’t care. It smells so good. I really want some!”
I ordered it that night. 🙂
magic-ramen –
Dark and warm; smelling flawless in the bottle and even more so on my skin, which brings out a sugary bourbon and a slight undertone of the softest powder. I hope this scent is a permanent addition to the BPAL line (or becomes one) because I want to wear this for the rest of my life.
Sara –
Rich, dark, warm, and sweet. Perfect for repelling pathetic men who troll reviews for activist fragrances! I love it.
Gloame –
The patchouli goes a bit tangy on me and stays that way. It’s really interesting. Not bad, but unexpected. Soft, warm, amber, tangy pathouli.
Rachel –
Lovely scent. The vanilla wears the strongest, with a hint of patchouli for earthiness. A sweet, warm, comforting scent that gets me compliments every time I wear it.
marion.cipher –
This is absolutely one of my new favorite scents. I’ve never gotten as many compliments on a scent as this one. It’s a perfect blend of patchouli & sweetness. Not too heavy & not too sweet. Stunning! I will be stocking up on this one before it’s retired, & giving it to multiple friends for the holidays.
Amanda –
This morning I smell like a fig newton dipped in bourbon. It is a truly dreamy scent.
mmcfa2 –
Probably my favorite yet, and had to order more for every reason imaginable. Beth thank you! Smells warm and inviting, like a wonderful hug in a favorite sweater. Sexy, woody, earthy. Just the right balance.
Sam –
I really, really love this a lot (for a lot of reasons). I was a little leery at first because, while I like patchouli well enough, it is always super, super strong on me, but I LOVE THIS. On me it goes syrupy sweet and really figgy, and a little woodsy which I always love and the patchouli was sort of softer at the back and not overpowering at all. Just dark, dirty and lovely, just the way I like it.
Marissa –
Very earthy and very sensual. I feel like I’m in the woods wearing it. The message/proceeds are enough reasons to buy this, but I’m so ecstatic that it smells so good!
Jenny –
This is my first purchase, and I love it. The earthyness of it is perfect for me, and the scent lingers for most of my working day.
Rainah –
The patchouli was strong but not overpowering and combined with the fig and vanilla to create something really sumptuous, sensual and mysterious. Exactly what I was hoping for.
reasonsays –
The patchouli note isn’t very strong for me, which I’m glad about, and the vanilla and fig combine to a sort of molasses scent. There’s also a sharp undertone, but I can’t define it.
viiiofxiii –
From the point of view of someone who’s not a bitter misogynist and actually received the perfume today, this is lovely. In the bottle it smells pleasantly sweet and a little sharp, but when I’m wearing it the sweetness disappears and it’s actually strongly evocative of the wood and incense scent of Japanese Buddhist temples, which I absolutely love.
Elizabeth –
I’m terrible at describing scents, but I like this one!
giovanna.ortiz210 –
This was…okay. In the bottle it smells of powder, on my skin it pulls very soapy at first, and then I just get earthy patchouli, oudh, and the tiniest bit of bourbon. I would’ve liked more fig and vanilla to balance out the earthiness from the patchouli and oudh. If a little more balanced, this would smell like the right fit for a real salt of the Earth type of lady. If your body can pull the other notes, this would be solid. However, on me it just pulled patchouli and bourbon, fresh dirt, oddly soapy, with a bit of spice at the end.