Life — June 22, 1922 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Woodland Song" - Life Magazine Satire This page presents a poem satirizing expensive hothouse flowers sold as luxury items, contrasted with native American wildflowers available cheaply ("five dollars per"). The accompanying sketch depicts a social scene at what appears to be an upscale waterfront dining establishment. A woman admires an elaborate floral arrangement while two men (one serving) and another woman observe. Her dialogue—praising the view and the meal's quality—suggests she's being treated to an expensive outing. The satire targets wealthy consumers' pretension: they purchase rare, costly hothouse blooms and dine expensively to appear refined, when affordable native alternatives exist. The poem's final couplet emphasizes this absurdity—paying premium prices for flowers that lack the genuine beauty of freely available American wildflowers. It's social commentary on class performance and wasteful consumption among the affluent.