Cindy on February 11th, 2010
My spellbound heart has made and remade the necklace of songs” — Rabindranath Tagore
Valentine’s Day is coming, and I’ll be the first to admit it can be a guilt-inducing Hallmark holiday. As hard as I try to avoid playing the sentimental fool, lately I’ve been jumping at any chance to celebrate the people I cherish. I’ve lost a few in recent years — so I’m burying old grudges and trying not to leave any of my love unsaid.
Reading Tagore‘s “Unending Love” for the first time, I knew it was the perfect poem to give my husband, whose birthday falls on Valentine’s Day. Doug and I met in art class in ninth grade, and immediately felt as if we’d been best friends for ages. We married several years later, after college, and we’ll gratefully celebrate our 30th anniversary this year.
This poem was Audrey Hepburn’s favorite, and if you click here, you’ll hear a reading dedicated to her by Gregory Peck. Love to all! – CL
Unending Love
By Rabindranath Tagore
(Translated by William Radice)
I seem to have loved you in numberless forms, numberless times
In life after life, in age after age, forever.
My spellbound heart has made and remade the necklace of songs,
That you take as a gift, wear round your neck in your many forms,
In life after life, in age after age, forever.
Whenever I hear old chronicles of love, its age-old pain,
Its ancient tale of being apart or together,
As I stare on and on into the past, in the end you emerge
Clad in the light of a pole-star, piercing the darkness of time:
You become an image of what is remembered forever.
You and I have floated here on the stream that brings from the fount
At the heart of time love of one for another.
We have played along side millions of lovers, shared in the same shy sweetness of meeting,
the same distressful tears of farewell –
Old love, but in shapes that renew and renew forever.
Today it is heaped at your feet, it has found its end in you,
The love of all man’s days both past and forever:
Universal joy, universal sorrow, universal life,
The memories of all loves merging with this one love of ours –
And the songs of every poet past and forever.
–Reprinted from Selected Poems, by Rabindranath Tagore (with an introduction by William Radice); Penguin Classics; 2005 –
– Photo: detail from a collage by Cindy La Ferle –
Cindy on September 8th, 2008
Last week I posted a piece on high-tech etiquette, referring to a current feature in Real Simple magazine. A couple of readers e-mailed me privately (and some posted comments) to share their views. As one woman wrote, “This isn’t just a problem with cell phone abuse. People today, generally, lack the most basic social skills and civility — and they don’t seem to care.” Another reader noted that “being classy seems to have gone out of style.”
Whenever I hear the word “classy,” I automatically think of Audrey Hepburn. And I can’t think of anyone else, living or dead, quite like her. She’s a tough act to follow â quirky and sophisticated, yet still as fresh as the proverbial girl next door. Her avant-garde fashion sense inspired the revival of the little black dress, the crisp white shirt, cocktail jewelry, Capri pants, ballet flats, and of course, over-sized sunglasses.
But classy isn’t strictly about clothes — nor was Audrey Hepburn. Standing apart from Hollywood’s voluptuous blond bombshells, Audrey was a streamlined original. And she was a model of decorum both personally and professionally.
She first lit up the screen in 1953 in Roman Holiday, then starred in several films that are now considered classics, including Funny Face, Sabrina, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Forever au courant, Audrey still charms and fascinates — and there are dozens of guides and coffee table books attempting to explain why.
âWhile her clothing style remains a grounding influence on fashion, it is her character that is certain to withstand the test of time,â notes Melissa Hellstern in How to Be Lovely: The Audrey Hepburn Way of Life. âAudrey taught us that being a woman is as simple as knowing who you are, and who you are not.â
Fashionistas might prefer Pamela Clarke Keogh’s Audrey Style, which contains dozens of previously unpublished photographs paired with original sketches from designers such as Hubert de Givenchy, who helped create Audrey’s look and her signature fragrance, L’Interdit. Also included are tips on how most women can adapt Audrey’s style to their own without looking like they’re auditioning for Sabrina.
For a more intimate, substantial look at Audrey Hepburn’s life as a mother, friend, and humanitarian, check out the biography and memoir, Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit: A Son Remembers, by Sean Hepburn Ferrer. Ferrer’s writings on his mother are as candid as they are emotional, touching on her early childhood in Belgium, troubles with her distant father, and her failed marriages. He pays homage to Audrey’s relationships with such luminaries as Henry Mancini, who said her âquality of wistfulnessâ inspired the songs he wrote for her, including âMoon River.â Ferrer often referred to his famous mom as âmy best friend,â and clearly admired her last role as a tireless spokeswoman for UNICEF. It all adds up to a great read for Audrey fans who want more than a mere fashion documentary on her richly textured life.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Audrey Hepburn has achieved cult status today, even to younger women who weren’t around when Breakfast at Tiffany’s premiered in 1961. She reminds us that grace and civility never go out of fashion. Her refined elegance endures against all odds — even in an era of pierced lips, tattoos, bare-all blogs, and Britney Spears. Despite her celebrity, Audrey kept her sense of humor and never took herself or Hollywood too seriously. âPeople seem to have this fixed image of me,â she said. âIn a way, I think it’s very sweet, but it’s also a little sad. After all, I am a human being. When I get angry, I sometimes swear.â – Cindy La Ferle
– Parts of this column originally appeared in book review form in the Christian Science Monitor, and later as a lifestyles column in Journal Register newspapers–
Valentine’s Day is coming, and I’ll be the first to admit it can be a guilt-inducing Hallmark holiday. As hard as I try to avoid playing the sentimental fool, lately I’ve been jumping at any chance to celebrate the people I cherish. I’ve lost a few in recent years — so I’m burying old grudges and trying not to leave any of my love unsaid.
