I loved you so much once. I did. More than anything in the whole wide world. Imagine that. What a laugh that is now. Can you believe it? We were so intimate once upon a time I can't believe it now. The memory of being that intimate with somebody. We were so intimate I could puke. I can't imagine ever being that intimate with somebody else. I haven't been.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on a once-deep romantic intimacy that has faded, invoking both nostalgia and disbelief.
In this poignant quote, Raymond Carver expresses a profound sense of loss and disbelief regarding a past intimate relationship. The speaker acknowledges having loved deeply and shared a significant bond, contrasting it with the current state of disconnection and the inability to replicate such intimacy with anyone else. Through a mix of affection and humor, the quote captures the complexities of love, memory, and the painful realization of how relationships can change over time.
In practice
This quote is perfect for a reflective moment at a wedding, highlighting the evolution of love.
Woke up this morning with a terrific urge to lie in bed all day and read. Fought against it for a minute. Then looked out the window at the rain. And gave over. Put myself entirely in the keep of this rainy morning. Would I live my life over again? Make the same unforgivable mistakes? Yes, given half a chance. Yes.
Fiction shows the external effects of internal conditions. Be aware of the tension between internal and external movement.
Every great or even every very good writer makes the world over according to his own specifications.
When I'm writing, I write every day. It's lovely when that's happening. One day dovetailing into the next. Sometimes I don't even know what day of the week it is.
It's strange. You never start out life with the intention of becoming a bankrupt or an alcoholic or a cheat and a thief. Or a liar.
When you're writing fiction or poetry... it really comes down to this: indifference to everything except what you're doing... A young writer could do worse than follow the advice given in those lines.
The man who foolishly does me wrong, I will return to him the protection of my most ungrudging love; and the more evil comes from him, the more good shall go from me.
Now I am going to reveal to you something which is very pure, a totally white thought. It is always in my heart; it blooms at each of my steps... The Dance is love, it is only love, it alone, and that is enough... I, then, it is amorously that I dance: to poems, to music but now I would like to no longer dance to anything but the rhythm of my soul.
Love consists in leaving the loved one space to be themselves while providing the security within which that self may flourish.
It is a good thing to be rich and strong, but it is a better thing to be loved.
What is a loving heart? A loving heart is sensitive to the whole of life, to all persons; a loving heart doesn't harden itself to any persons or things.
It is necessary to fall in love... if only to provide an alibi for all the random despair you are going to feel anyway.
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