Florette's Woods Comments

I've been thinking about Florette and Nomada and came back to your poem. I did not re-read what I wrote about it in late December, so I can give a fresh impression. This time the phrase A SENTIENT LIFE FORCE stood out because that is what Chantelfleurie became by imitating human behavior. Here Florette seems to be reversing the process: she is acquiring an animal soul. She is oblivious to what people think about her natural behavior but you don't create any conflict with the outside world. I like that because we can enjoy her dancing with trees, building twig boats for rocks and winning the hearts of everyone and everything. The writer Jason W. Stahl wrote a book CHANTELFLEURIE: THE REALITY OF FANTASY. You have given us another character who embodies that special existence in the world. All three of them are wonderfully imagined!

WOW! Once again, Nika, you create an iconic figure whose life inspires the most wonderful thoughts and feelings inside of me. It's Cahntelfleurie, Nomada... and now Florette who joins them to show us how to appreciate and savor life. These figures share an oppenness to experience and a willingness to let go, but they don't let prior thoughts confine their free movements, they don't let thinking replace the sheer delight of movement. I'm half in love with Florette already, but I would not want to impose myself on her and in any way limit her freedom. She has earned her privacy to enjoy her solitary commune with nature FOR AS LONG AS SHE CHOOSES. And I don't want her to realize some might consider her insane in her freedom. I don't want anything to compromise her joy which is so inspiring. LONG MAY IT FLOURISH!