Beowulf-The Water Burns

A few miles from here a frost-stiffened wood waits and keeps watch above a mere; the overhanging bank is a maze of tree-roots mirrored in its surface. At night there, something uncanny happens: the water burns. —Beowulf (lines 1362-67)

A bitter, sexy, cold scent perfect for a hot, muggy summer day. A sort of attractive dankness reminiscent of Angelina Jolie’s Portrayal of Grendel’s mother…not what you were expecting. It’s soothing but disturbing, dry yet cold/moist. Like burning water… the mystery of what can’t be, or can it? The essence of earth and high greenery–a hint of smoke but smelled from far away, boxwood, galbanum, and a light hint of Mysore sandalwood. Green, dry, herbal, smokey.