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I seem to myself, as in a dream, Am accidental guest in this dreadful body.
Anna Akhmatova
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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

Wild honey smells of freedom The dust - of sunlight The mouth of a young girl, like a violet But gold - smells of nothing.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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If you were music I would listen to you ceaselessly And my low spirits would brighten up.
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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.
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