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The band of color in the Visible Spectrum of the Electromagnetic Spectrum between the wavelengths of 440 and 400 nanometers.

Two little-known facts about violets.

First, they're delicious to eat. From starchy root to confectionary flower, every single part, sweet or scentless, should have devotees in every place they grow. It should be cultivated, and its zesty, assertive leaves put onto NYU's student menu as salad, soup or sauce. Considered a regional specialty of Spain and Italy, it merits in Madrid, a directed boutique, La Violeta. Over here, it should be obsessively bred like hemp for its oils, while the shyer native species put on a conservation list, so they can propagate their mongrel kind. Violet heads can be candied, iced, preserved in vinegar or jam, dried as scented ink or natural food coloring, used to flavor vodka, or enjoyed on their own, with watercress and Belgian endive, or eaten from the hand (violet fighting, as in hooking violets, pulling, and the victor eating the loser, is very fun). Violet flavor ought to be something that you can get at the local grocery (next to the rose water, and ...oh, I'm getting carried away). In short, if you find violets in your yard, don't consider them "weeds". Eat some, and transplant the rest someplace safe. They will make lots of leaves in between times.

Second, they're a trickster. Every bite of Violet will overload your nose with a local anesthetic, ionone, which will paralyze your olfactories for anything from a few minutes to two hours. Hence, the coinage "iocaine powder", which played so large a part in "The Princess Bride".

Hope I've made some things clear.



Tomorrow,  she says

eyes closed,  head tilted to the windows


in the morning when the street lights surrender

when buses growl and cars blow horns 


tomorrow,  she says

pulling the blanket almost to her chin


when the lights flicker in the apartment building across the street 

a random checkboard 


tomorrow, she says

almost asleep now,  a soft whisper


when I can smell the coffee 

from the shop two blocks away 


I will wake you up 


                                                                                          when its violet


1. Bot.








4. Zool.




© Webster 1913.





© Webster 1913.
