I have a rendezvous with death... I will not fail that rendezvous
Alan SeegerRead
From a boy_x000D_ _x000D_ I gloated on existence. Earth to me_x000D_ _x000D_ Seemed all-sufficient and my sojourn there_x000D_ _x000D_ One trembling opportunity for joy.
Interpretation
The quote reflects a deep appreciation for existence and the joys of life.
In this quote, Alan Seeger expresses a profound sense of gratitude for the experience of being alive. He conveys that life on earth offers a unique and precious chance to find joy, suggesting that every moment is valuable and should be cherished as an opportunity for happiness.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a motivational talk about appreciating life.
I have a rendezvous with death... I will not fail that rendezvous
Bad influences and distractions were around every corner. But I also learned that my neighborhood could be a nurturing, positive place to grow up.
I'll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure.
I did everything to get food. I have stolen for food. I have jumped in huge garbage bins with maggots for food. I have befriended people in the neighborhood who I knew had mothers who cooked three meals a day for food, and I sacrificed a childhood for food and grew up in immense shame.
I found myself grinning until my cheeks hurt, my scalp prickling till I thought it might lift off my head. My tongue ran away from me, giddy with freedom. This, and this, and this, I said to him. I did not have to fear that I spoke too much. I did not have to worry that I was too slender, or too slow. This and this and this! I taught him how to skip stones, and he taught me how to carve wood. I could feel every nerve in my body, every brush of air against my skin.
(on grief) And you do come out of it, that’s true. After a year, after five. But you don’t come out of it like a train coming out of a tunnel, bursting through the downs into sunshine and that swift, rattling descent to the Channel; you come out of it as a gull comes out of an oil-slick. You are tarred and feathered for life.
It hurt, and that is not a euphemism. It hurt like a beating.
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