Wild honey smells of freedom The dust - of sunlight The mouth of a young girl, like a violet But gold - smells of nothing.
Anna AkhmatovaRead
Not, not mine: it's somebody else's wound; I could never have borne it. So take the thing that happened, hide it, stick it in the ground; whisk the lamps away.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the emotional burden of others' suffering and the desire to conceal painful experiences.
In this quote, Anna Akhmatova explores the deep emotional impact of wounds that do not belong to oneself, suggesting a profound empathy for others' pain. By advocating for the act of burying these painful memories and hiding them away, the quote speaks to the human tendency to distance oneself from sorrowful experiences that are not directly ours, emphasizing the complexity of shared grief and the struggle to cope with it.
Themes
PainEmpathyGriefSufferingMemory
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on mental health, you might say, 'As Akhmatova beautifully stated, we often bear others' wounds in our hearts. Let's address that collective pain.'
More from Anna Akhmatova
All quotes βAnd you know, I agree to everything: I will condemn, I will forget, I will give comfort to the enemy, Darkness will be light and sin lovely.
Anna AkhmatovaRead
Who will grieve for this woman? Does she not seem too insignificant for our concern? Yet in my heart I never will deny her, Who suffered death because she chose to turn.
Anna AkhmatovaRead
I myself, from the very beginning, Seemed to myself like someone's dream or delirium Or a reflection in someone else's mirror, Without flesh, without meaning, without a name. Already I knew the list of crimes That I was destined to commit.
Anna AkhmatovaRead
If you were music I would listen to you ceaselessly And my low spirits would brighten up.
Anna AkhmatovaRead
I know beginnings, I know endings too, and life-in-death, and something else I'd rather not recall just now.
Anna AkhmatovaRead
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