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
I seem to myself, as in a dream, Am accidental guest in this dreadful body.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects a sense of existential questioning and the feeling of being an outsider in one's own existence.
In this quote, Anna Akhmatova expresses a profound sense of disconnection from her physical self, likening her existence to that of an unintended visitor within a body that feels foreign or burdensome. This dream-like perspective suggests a contemplation on identity and the struggles of being in one's own skin, highlighting the complexities of human consciousness and the often surreal experience of life.
Themes
ExistenceIdentitySelfBodyDisconnection
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during a philosophical discussion about the nature of self and consciousness.
More from Anna Akhmatova
All quotes →And 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
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.
Anna AkhmatovaRead
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Eventually I saw that the path of the heart requires a full gesture, a degree of abandon that can be terrifying. Only then is it possible to achieve a sparkling metamorphosis.
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