Everything is complicated; if that were not so, life and poetry and everything else would be a bore.
LIGHT FROM WITHIN my friend, cancer got you damn it: you had it beat for seven years at least. how did it come back? Why all that pain. again. and you, such a fighter you fought me over and over with tears and words and promises. you fought for me with honesty and a light so bright it hurts my heart. sweet lorna. at peace now finally no more battles, just light from within a flickering candle in the dark burns with you.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the struggle against cancer and celebrates the inner strength and light of a fighter in the face of adversity.
In this poignant tribute, Wallace Stevens captures the essence of resilience and the enduring spirit of a loved one battling cancer. It acknowledges the pain and struggle faced during the illness while illuminating the brightness of the fighter's spirit and the peace found in the end. The metaphor of 'light from within' showcases the beauty and strength that exists even in darkness, highlighting the importance of fostering inner light and courage amidst life’s battles.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a eulogy to honor a loved one's battle with cancer.
More from Wallace Stevens
All quotes →Most modern reproducers of life, even including the camera, really repudiate it. We gulp down evil, choke at good.
After one has abandoned a belief in God, poetry is that essence which takes its place as life's redemption.
Why should she give her bounty to the dead? What is divinity if it can come Only in silent shadows and in dreams?
Unfortunately there is nothing more inane than an Easter carol. It is a religious perversion of the activity of Spring in our blood.
Compare the silent rose of the sun And rain, the blood-rose living in its smell, With this paper, this dust. That states the point.
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You are not a man anymore. You are a soldier. Your comfort is of no importance and your life isn't of much importance. Most of your orders will be unpleasant, but that's not your business. They should've trained you for this, and not for flower-strewn streets. They should have built your soul with truth, not led along with lies.
I have to make sure that I don't silence myself about the things that I believe in, because sometimes the fear creeps in of 'What if fewer people watch the show or fewer people hire me because I express my politics?' For me, the commitment is to never be quiet just because I'm in the public eye.
You will be faced, now, with pain of a magnitude that none of us here can comprehend because it is beyond our experience. The Receiver himself was not able to describe it, only to remind us that you would be faced with it, that you would need immense courage.
Black power can be clearly defined for those who do not attach the fears of white America to their questions about it.
If I cannot air this pain and alter it, I will surely die of it. That's the beginning of social protest.