Attar
Fire—tears—
And the torture-chamber,
With the last maddening turn of the screw— Only thus
Is one precious drop distilled
Of the attar of rose
Of the heart.
Georgia Douglas Johnson
Fire—tears—
And the torture-chamber,
With the last maddening turn of the screw— Only thus
Is one precious drop distilled
Of the attar of rose
Of the heart.
The speaker compares emotional pain to the process of making attar, the concentrated oil of roses. Fire, tears, and a torture-chamber with its screw being tightened suggest agony pushed to its absolute limit.
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