Let’s cut to the chase. There are some lines that make the whole book worth reading- some lines that are reason in and of themselves to crack open the five hundred pager in the first place. Obviously, it’s rewarding to dive through the books by yourself and discover the joy of each beautiful piece of language. Reading just consolidated quotes seems almost illicit- like cheating. But let’s not let that hold us back, eh? #10: “While I’m alive I will be with you- For soul and blood are inseparable- While I’m alive I will be with you- For love and death go together.” Aleksandr Kochetkov, tr. by Lubov Yakovleva, from 20th Century Russian Poetry; “Ballad about a Smoke-Filled Railway Carriage” #9: “Because of you, the heady perfumes of Summer pain me; because of you, I again Seek out the signs that precipitate desires: Shooting stars, falling objects.” Pablo Neruda, “Love” #8: “Love is a war of lightning, and two bodies ruined by a single sweetness. Kiss by kiss I cover your tiny infinity.” Pablo Neruda (again), “Carnal Apple, Woman Filled, Burning Moon” #7: “And when the roofs darken, when the stars drift until they shatter on the sea’s finish, you will know what I told you is true when I said abandonment is beautiful.” Spencer Reece, “Portofino” #6: “We sat grown quiet at the name of love; We saw the last embers of daylight die, And in the trembling blue-green of the sky A moon, worn as if it had been a shell Washed by time's waters as they rose and fell About the stars and broke in days and years. I had a thought for no one's but your ears: That you were beautiful, and that I strove To love you in the old high way of love; That it had all seemed happy, and yet we'd grown As weary-hearted as that hollow moon.” Yeats, “Adam’s Curse” #5: “Human language is like a cracked kettle on which we beat our tunes for beats to dance to, when all the time we are longing to move the stars to pity.” Gustave Flaubert, “Madame Bovary” #4: “Clouds pass and disperse. Are those the faces of love, those pale irretrievables? Is it for such I agitate my heart?” Sylvia Plath, “Elm” #3: “Drink and dance and laugh and lie, Love, the reeling midnight through, For tomorrow we shall die! (But, alas, we never do.)” Dorothy Parker, “The Flaw in Paganism” #2: “It is difficult to get the news from poems yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there.” William Carlos Williams, “Asphodel, That Greeny Flower” #1: “‘Why did you stop praising?’ ‘Because I’ve never heard anything back.’ This longing you express is the return message. The grief you cry out from draws you towards union. Your pure sadness that wants help is the secret cup. Listen to the moan of a dog for its master. That whining is the connection. There are love dogs no one knows the names of. Give your life to be one of them.” Rumi, “Love Dogs” I hope this helps! Naomi Gageis a sophomore in high school in Los Angeles. In her spare time, she reads, writes, and cooks. You won’t find her on social media, but if you see her in the street, feel free to say hello.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.Categories
All
Archives
May 2023
|