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Siren Says Quotes
Siren Says
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Jennifer Herrera544 ratings, 3.48 average rating, 277 reviews
Siren Says Quotes
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“Tall sunflowers pushed up from the feather-strewn dirt below us, racing toward the moonlit sky. An entire bush of hydrangeas sprouted, purple and luscious and intoxicating.
There were roses and calla lilies, forsythia and lilacs. Orange blossoms, bryony, and myrtle, their golden stamens bursting, shining around us like stars.
I couldn’t believe it. That we’d done this. We’d courted madness and inspiration. We’d tried and failed and tried again. Out of patience and forgiveness and this urgent need to be alive, we’d grown a whole garden of stars.”
― Siren Says
There were roses and calla lilies, forsythia and lilacs. Orange blossoms, bryony, and myrtle, their golden stamens bursting, shining around us like stars.
I couldn’t believe it. That we’d done this. We’d courted madness and inspiration. We’d tried and failed and tried again. Out of patience and forgiveness and this urgent need to be alive, we’d grown a whole garden of stars.”
― Siren Says
“All women who practice Soul magic are able to connect to the spirit of a type of animal. We hadn't known what our animal was until that moment. Until the Spirit magic and Mis's father's blood came together on her skin and Mis lifted up and became a bird. Not just a bird but an enormous and formidable corvid.
When Mis was a corvid, she learned the secrets of Nature that, when she became a woman again, she kept with her, to be passed down to her daughter and her daughter after that. She learned the secrets of plant coaxing. They called her a Siren because even the plants were susceptible to her charms.”
― Siren Says
When Mis was a corvid, she learned the secrets of Nature that, when she became a woman again, she kept with her, to be passed down to her daughter and her daughter after that. She learned the secrets of plant coaxing. They called her a Siren because even the plants were susceptible to her charms.”
― Siren Says
“There was the Llamhigyn y Dŵr, with wings like a bat and the face of a frog, and a nasty tail that could stun a person into immobility.
There was the Ceffyl Dŵr, that majestic horse that glittered in the changing light and that, even now, called me toward it.
There was the Twrch Trwyth, a boar with tusks like swords and a body like a hippo’s. I’d known that it was big, but this was much larger than I anticipated, like it might crush your bones into dust.
Something white and opalescent slithered, its scales expanding and contracting as it moved. This was the Gwiber, a huge, poisonous snake that could consume a human in a single bite.
As the black of night shifted to navy blue and then lightened, signaling the arrival of dawn, Coblynau came to join the scene at the ridgeline. There were seven or eight of them. They looked comically small compared to the others but just as vicious, with large catlike ears and teeth in the shape of razors.”
― Siren Says
There was the Ceffyl Dŵr, that majestic horse that glittered in the changing light and that, even now, called me toward it.
There was the Twrch Trwyth, a boar with tusks like swords and a body like a hippo’s. I’d known that it was big, but this was much larger than I anticipated, like it might crush your bones into dust.
Something white and opalescent slithered, its scales expanding and contracting as it moved. This was the Gwiber, a huge, poisonous snake that could consume a human in a single bite.
As the black of night shifted to navy blue and then lightened, signaling the arrival of dawn, Coblynau came to join the scene at the ridgeline. There were seven or eight of them. They looked comically small compared to the others but just as vicious, with large catlike ears and teeth in the shape of razors.”
― Siren Says
“A black opal.
No, not just any black opal. This was the same stone that Paul had shown us in the conservatory. It was blue black and flecked with fiery red and neon green, vivid purple, and bright orange— a cluster of color that looked like glowing embers. Just as arresting as the first day I’d seen it.
“Black opal is a stone of strength,” Idris said, rubbing his thumb across its smooth surface. “It forms a shield around you so that, regardless of the circumstances, you can be exactly who you are.”
― Siren Says
No, not just any black opal. This was the same stone that Paul had shown us in the conservatory. It was blue black and flecked with fiery red and neon green, vivid purple, and bright orange— a cluster of color that looked like glowing embers. Just as arresting as the first day I’d seen it.
“Black opal is a stone of strength,” Idris said, rubbing his thumb across its smooth surface. “It forms a shield around you so that, regardless of the circumstances, you can be exactly who you are.”
― Siren Says
“The three of us walked around the jewelry shop as Idris showed us glistening jewels, delicate chains, and the boxy cuff links. There were black pearl necklaces and vibrant emerald rings, chunky gold bracelets, and diamonds everywhere.
But those weren't what caught my attention. It was the gemstones.
I didn't know much about jewelers, but I got the impression that most of them specialized in gold and diamonds, or in semiprecious stones that were immediately recognizable. But Idris's jewelry wasn't like that. Or at least, it wasn't all like that.
His jewelry featured obscure stones that my mother has taught me about when I was young. Larimar, which was the color of morning rain. Jadeite— a shock of neon purple. Musgravite, like nighttime mist, the kind that shrouds everything.
Idris had managed to combine these gemstones to create works of art.
There were whimsical arm cuffs like honeycombs that changed color in the light.
There were hefty rings of copper-flecked sunstones, like a horizon, waking.
There were bracelets and necklaces, too, all of them original and charming and perfect.
It was absolutely wild to me that a single person could capture such extraordinary beauty. It was inconceivable that that person would be someone I'd met in real life. Not just someone. Him.”
― Siren Says
But those weren't what caught my attention. It was the gemstones.
I didn't know much about jewelers, but I got the impression that most of them specialized in gold and diamonds, or in semiprecious stones that were immediately recognizable. But Idris's jewelry wasn't like that. Or at least, it wasn't all like that.
His jewelry featured obscure stones that my mother has taught me about when I was young. Larimar, which was the color of morning rain. Jadeite— a shock of neon purple. Musgravite, like nighttime mist, the kind that shrouds everything.
Idris had managed to combine these gemstones to create works of art.
There were whimsical arm cuffs like honeycombs that changed color in the light.
There were hefty rings of copper-flecked sunstones, like a horizon, waking.
There were bracelets and necklaces, too, all of them original and charming and perfect.
It was absolutely wild to me that a single person could capture such extraordinary beauty. It was inconceivable that that person would be someone I'd met in real life. Not just someone. Him.”
― Siren Says
“To thrive, plants don’t just reach for the sun. They need grounding. They need roots. Without grounding, they’d topple over. They’re phototropic and gravitropic.”
― Siren Says
― Siren Says
“I forced my breathing to calm and focused my mind to where it always went when I had to endure something that felt impossible— I called it my Star Garden, my collection of marvels.
I thought of the fungus Trichaptum, which has more than seventeen thousand mating types. In human terms, that means it has over seventeen thousand different sexes. And yet, many humans still only recognize two.
I thought of magnolia trees, and how, because they predate bees, they rely on beetles for pollination.
There was so much beauty in the world, so many tiny miracles. If Nature was capable of adaptation, then so was I.”
― Siren Says
I thought of the fungus Trichaptum, which has more than seventeen thousand mating types. In human terms, that means it has over seventeen thousand different sexes. And yet, many humans still only recognize two.
I thought of magnolia trees, and how, because they predate bees, they rely on beetles for pollination.
There was so much beauty in the world, so many tiny miracles. If Nature was capable of adaptation, then so was I.”
― Siren Says
“The tall room was lit by a skylight so large that it felt as though I’d stepped into a greenhouse. Indeed, the room did have the look of a place built with only the needs of plants in mind.
Enormous fern fronds arched from the edges of the room, not in pots but growing from spots where the plaster had broken. Spears of aloe shot up from pockets in the wall, along with pink oleanders, mooning for attention.
Morning glories wrapped around the twin banisters of the imperial staircase. At its apex hung not a chandelier, but a fringe of purple wisteria like thousands of wild grapes. It was so enormous and so perfect that I put my hand on my heart as if urging it to beat.
As I stood in the center of the room, the plants all around us began to shift. Vines stretched across tile. Flowers petal-walked down the plaster walls. Even the chandelier lowered, like the lens of camera, going in for a close-up.”
― Siren Says
Enormous fern fronds arched from the edges of the room, not in pots but growing from spots where the plaster had broken. Spears of aloe shot up from pockets in the wall, along with pink oleanders, mooning for attention.
Morning glories wrapped around the twin banisters of the imperial staircase. At its apex hung not a chandelier, but a fringe of purple wisteria like thousands of wild grapes. It was so enormous and so perfect that I put my hand on my heart as if urging it to beat.
As I stood in the center of the room, the plants all around us began to shift. Vines stretched across tile. Flowers petal-walked down the plaster walls. Even the chandelier lowered, like the lens of camera, going in for a close-up.”
― Siren Says
“In the antechamber, moss had anchored itself over the windows, completely blocking out the sunlight. Delilah and I should have been cast in total darkness. Yet, the room wasn’t dark— at least not entirely.
To my right, yellow-veined crotons glowed with pulsing neon light.
To my left, spiky dracaena emitted a purple phosphorescence.
All around me, the recurved leathery leaves of ponytail palms radiated yellow-green as their panicles of flowers shone bright with incandescence.
Of course, I’d read about plants that did this. In labs, botanists had inserted genes from bioluminescent mushrooms into petunias so that they glowed like fireflies. However, bioluminescent plants weren’t supposed to exist in Nature. Yet all around me, their luscious leaves and fringed flowers radiated hazy light.”
― Siren Says
To my right, yellow-veined crotons glowed with pulsing neon light.
To my left, spiky dracaena emitted a purple phosphorescence.
All around me, the recurved leathery leaves of ponytail palms radiated yellow-green as their panicles of flowers shone bright with incandescence.
Of course, I’d read about plants that did this. In labs, botanists had inserted genes from bioluminescent mushrooms into petunias so that they glowed like fireflies. However, bioluminescent plants weren’t supposed to exist in Nature. Yet all around me, their luscious leaves and fringed flowers radiated hazy light.”
― Siren Says
“Cynefin, I realized, was a place of trees.
There were Chinese chestnuts, which never fruit on their own because they need other trees for cross pollination.
Then there were fan-shaped ginkgoes, which are actually one of the oldest surviving tree species on earth, predating dinosaurs.
Then came the river birches, which are so water seeking that if the season is dry enough, they'll seep into homes' septic systems just to get a drink.”
― Siren Says
There were Chinese chestnuts, which never fruit on their own because they need other trees for cross pollination.
Then there were fan-shaped ginkgoes, which are actually one of the oldest surviving tree species on earth, predating dinosaurs.
Then came the river birches, which are so water seeking that if the season is dry enough, they'll seep into homes' septic systems just to get a drink.”
― Siren Says
“When it came to plants, I had a connection.
Now, tuning in to that connection, I pressed the tip of my finger to the peak of the rose’s bud. Whereas normally I’d feel a faint buzz as energy travels through the plant, spinning nutrients into sugar, now I felt something else. Like the low rumble of an engine, or the roar of something wild, like the distress signal of something that’s lowly appearance belies its power.
I withdrew my hand, stunned.
Over the course of my life, I’d encountered thousands of plants. Shrubs and flowers and trees and mosses. Yet I’d never felt anything like this. Like this plant wasn’t pumping sugars, but it was pumping blood. Like it had its own heartbeat. Like it was alive in the same way that I was.”
― Siren Says
Now, tuning in to that connection, I pressed the tip of my finger to the peak of the rose’s bud. Whereas normally I’d feel a faint buzz as energy travels through the plant, spinning nutrients into sugar, now I felt something else. Like the low rumble of an engine, or the roar of something wild, like the distress signal of something that’s lowly appearance belies its power.
I withdrew my hand, stunned.
Over the course of my life, I’d encountered thousands of plants. Shrubs and flowers and trees and mosses. Yet I’d never felt anything like this. Like this plant wasn’t pumping sugars, but it was pumping blood. Like it had its own heartbeat. Like it was alive in the same way that I was.”
― Siren Says
“Tucked into an improbable space between bent metal and a mound of snow sat a small plant. It was audaciously green amongst all that gray.
The leaves were rounded and leathery and deep-lobed. There was a tiny bud at the end of the short stem. Although it hadn't yet bloomed, I could see what it was, what it might become.
This was a winter rose.
The name is a misnomer as it isn't actually a rose. The technical name is Helleborus niger. It comes from the Greek bora, meaning "food" and helein, meaning "destroys." It's food that destroys you.
Poison.
Yet I'd never thought of winter roses that way, not as dangerous but as something to be admired. Winter roses are some of Nature's heartiest plants. They can survive frost and wind. They can withstand scorching heat and rain and drought. They're natural wonders. Yet for all of their strength, they aren't indestructible.”
― Siren Says
The leaves were rounded and leathery and deep-lobed. There was a tiny bud at the end of the short stem. Although it hadn't yet bloomed, I could see what it was, what it might become.
This was a winter rose.
The name is a misnomer as it isn't actually a rose. The technical name is Helleborus niger. It comes from the Greek bora, meaning "food" and helein, meaning "destroys." It's food that destroys you.
Poison.
Yet I'd never thought of winter roses that way, not as dangerous but as something to be admired. Winter roses are some of Nature's heartiest plants. They can survive frost and wind. They can withstand scorching heat and rain and drought. They're natural wonders. Yet for all of their strength, they aren't indestructible.”
― Siren Says