It is difficult to write a paradiso when all the superficial indications are that you ought to write an apocalypse.
Ezra PoundRead
The rustling of the silk is discontinued, Dust drifts over the courtyard, There is not sound of footfall, and the leaves Scurry into heaps and lie still, And she the rejoicer of the heart is beneath them: A wet leaf that clings to the threshold.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the transition from life to stillness and loss, using vivid imagery of nature and absence.
Ezra Pound's quote evokes a somber scene where the vibrancy of life, symbolized by the 'rejoicer of the heart,' has been subdued, leading to a quiet and still environment. The imagery of rustling silk and drifting dust creates a juxtaposition of movement and stillness, while the wet leaf symbolizes decay and the remnants of what once brought joy. The quote captures the essence of loss and the sadness that comes with it, reflecting on how life can change abruptly, leaving behind echoes of what was.
Themes
LossStillnessNatureAbsenceMemory
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used during a reading at a memorial service to reflect on loss and remembrance.
More from Ezra Pound
All quotes →The ant's a centaur in his dragon world. Pull down thy vanity, it is not man Made courage, or made order, or made grace, Pull down thy vanity, I say pull down. Learn of the green world what can be thy place In scaled invention or true artistry, Pull down thy vanity, Paquin pull down! The green casque has outdone your elegance.
Ezra PoundRead
I desired my dust to be mingled with yours Forever and forever and forever.
Ezra PoundRead
Literature does not exist in a vacuum. Writers as such have a definite social function exactly proportional to their ability as writers. This is their main use.
Ezra PoundRead
In our time, the curse is monetary illiteracy, just as inability to read plain print was the curse of earlier centuries.
Ezra PoundRead
The modern artist must live by craft and violence. His gods are violent gods. Those artists, so called, whose work does not show this strife, are uninteresting.
Ezra PoundRead
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