and you a woman who loves the man who runs a drug store.
I don’t care like I used to; I lay bricks straighter than I
used to and I sing slower handling the trowel afternoons.
When the sun is in my eyes and the ladders are shaky and the
mortar boards go wrong, I think of you.
I don’t know about you, but I haven’t found any verses on romantic love sweeter, more touching than these. And I read a lot of poetry — classic, contemporary, and everything else in between.
To me, it’s something like this that has rendered the let-me-tell-you-how-beautiful-you-are-and-how-much-I-want-you type of romantic poem insipid and banal. Any literate straight man can say nice things about the appearance of a woman he lusts after or loves — some more eloquently than others. But it takes a special kind of man to realize and put into simple yet powerful words the kind of love that results in such inner tranquility and joy.
Sandburg speaks of a woman, apparently out of his league, the love for whom has caused him to grow out of the childish desire to possess someone and put him in a place where the loving thought of her is … enough. He doesn’t care any longer whether he can be with her. The thought of her has made him better at what he does. Even the most mundane of tasks all of a sudden becomes pleasurable. And when things go wrong, it’s also the thought of her that saves the day.
Women are portrayed as objects of desire all the time. Rarely is any of them spoken of — as this one here — as someone the mere thought of whom causes maturity, serenity, contentment, and peace in the heart of a man.
N.B. Carl Sandburg grew up very poor, and at one point in his youth he was indeed a bricklayer. Read Sandburg’s biography here.
Notice how easy it is to remember the weight measurements of the ingredients in this dense, moist, and flavorful bars.
White Chocolate-Almond-Lime Pavés
(Makes one 8×8 pan)
Printable Version
1/2 cup (115 g) butter, cut into 1/4-inch pats
3/4 cup (115 g) good-quality white chocolate chips
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (115 g) sugar
1/2 cup minus 2 tablespoons (115 g) whole milk
1 1/3 cup (115 g) almond meal
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of one lime
Powdered sugar for dusting, optional
Great post, Ms. Simmers! I might have to give this a try, even though I’m not crazy about almond flavor unless I’m chomping on a fistful of actual almonds.
do you think i can make this with normal (dark) chocolate? i know the appearance will suffer, but i really dislike white chocolate, which isn’t chocolate in any sense of the word.
Anon – Think so. You may want to adjust the amount of sugar depending on the cocoa content of your chocolate. Also, personally, I don’t like lime in dark chocolate desserts, so I’d leave it out.
Such a great post! I was drooling just at the title of it (hello, white chocolate and almond!?) and swooning by the end:)
I made these last night and the whole family loved them! The texture is just as you’ve described and the flavor is just right, not too sweet. Thanks!
Joy
Love Carl Sandburg even though I probably lack the skills and knowledge to truly appreciate his work. This dessert you have here looks just stunning and I am dreaming of a slice in my hand with a fine cup of tea in the other. Life would be good, everything would slow down as I savored this slice.
totally agree with you regarding dark chocolate and lime, just not a good combination. had a chocolate bar with that paring once in Martinique and it was just wrong.
made this last night, had only roasted tamari almonds in the house, and it came out a dark brown, only baked it for 30 minutes, but it was very good, not too rich
EOMONROE – Whoa. Tamari almonds. You’re brave! Glad you liked it, though.
Contentment is certainly an emotion that can be enjoyed for longer than desire. In the case of cake you can probably have both for a short time. In the case of love it’s harder to predict.
Arwen – Man, that’s deep…
These are beautiful. The photos are too!
I made these – the texture wasn’t as smooth as I would’ve liked it to be but my roommates devoured them all the same. I might try them again with orange instead of lime.