And what a congress of stinks!- Roots ripe as old bait, Pulpy stems, rank, silo-rich, Leaf mold, manure, lime, piled against slippery planks, Nothing would give up life: Even the dirt kept breathing a small breath.
Theodore RoethkeRead
Pain wanders through my bones like a lost fire
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote expresses the lingering and pervasive nature of emotional or physical pain.
The metaphor of pain wandering through one's bones suggests a deep-seated and almost existential experience of suffering. The imagery of a 'lost fire' conveys a sense of intensity and urgency, hinting that this pain, while ever-present, may not have a clear source or resolution, reflecting how pain can shape one's existence in a silent but profound way.
Themes
PainSufferingExistenceEmotionalMetaphor
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the impact of trauma on life experiences, one might reference this quote to emphasize the pervasive nature of pain.
More from Theodore Roethke
All quotes βMy Papa's Waltz: The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy. We romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother's countenance Could not unfrown itself. The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one knuckle; At every step you missed My right ear scraped a buckle. You beat time on my head With a palm caked hard by dirt, Then waltzed me off to bed Still clinging to your shirt.
Theodore RoethkeRead
Art is our defense against hysteria and death.
Theodore RoethkeRead
The indignity of it!-_x000D_ _x000D_ With everything blooming above me,_x000D_ _x000D_ Lilies, pale-pink cyclamen, roses,_x000D_ _x000D_ Whole fields lovely and inviolate,-_x000D_ _x000D_ Me down in the fetor of weeds,_x000D_ _x000D_ Crawling on all fours,_x000D_ _x000D_ Alive, in a slippery grave.
Theodore RoethkeRead
By daily dying, I have come to be.
Theodore RoethkeRead
The stones were sharp, The wind came at my back; Walking along the highway, Mincing like a cat.
Theodore RoethkeRead
Similar quotes
There was never a genius without a tincture of madness.
AristotleRead
No one who cannot limit himself has ever been able to write.
Nicolas Boileau-DespreauxRead
I'm not patient - and I'm getting more impatient as I get older - but I am disciplined about writing, and I want that on my tombstone: 'He wasn't patient, but he was disciplined.'
Douglas CouplandRead
You do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you, and allowing that goodness to emerge. But it can only emerge if something fundamental changes in your state of consciousness.
Eckhart TolleRead
I feel like we have to keep our eyes on the road. Being nostalgic is like taking an offramp and getting a sandwich - and then you get back on the highway. I don't want to be spending the rest of my life at the gas station.
Eddie VedderRead
Those wounds stay with you, and you turn them into a language and a purpose.
Bruce SpringsteenRead