A poem should not mean but be.
Archibald MacleishRead
There is no dusk to be, There is no dawn that was, Only there's now, and now, And the wind in the grass.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of living in the present moment, recognizing that the past and future are unattainable.
Archibald Macleish's quote suggests that our focus should be on the present, as the past has already occurred and the future is uncertain. By highlighting the simplicity and beauty of 'now' and the natural elements around us, such as 'the wind in the grass,' it encourages a mindfulness that allows us to fully experience life as it unfolds.
Themes
PresentMindfulnessNowLifeNature
In practice
Example use cases
During a mindfulness workshop, you could share this quote to emphasize the importance of being present.
More from Archibald Macleish
All quotes βTo see the earth as we now see it, small and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the unending night ~ brothers who see now they are truly brothers.
Archibald MacleishRead
Journalism is concerned with events, poetry with feelings. Journalism is concerned with the look of the world, poetry with the feel of the world.
Archibald MacleishRead
How shall freedom be defended? By arms when it is attacked by arms, by truth when it is attacked by lies, by faith when it is attacked by authoritarian dogma. Always, in the final act, by determination and faith.
Archibald MacleishRead
Races didn't bother the Americans. They were something a lot better than any race. They were a People. They were the first self-constituted, self-declared, self-created People in the history of the world.
Archibald MacleishRead
The business of the law is to make sense of the confusion of what we call human life - to reduce it to order but at the same time to give it possibility, scope, even dignity.
Archibald MacleishRead
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There is no governor anywhere. You are all absolutely free. There is no restraint that cannot be escaped. If anybody could go into dhyana at will, nobody could be controlled - by fear of prison, by fear of whips or electroshock, by fear of death, even. All existing society is based on keeping those fears alive, to control the masses. Ten people who know would be more dangerous than a million armed anarchists.
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Not only around our infancy Doth heaven with all its splendors lie; Daily, with souls that cringe and plot, We Sinais climb and know it not.
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I wonder if I've been changed in the night. Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is 'Who in the world am I?' Ah, that's the great puzzle!
Lewis CarrollRead