EPITAPH Now I'm not the brightest knife in the drawer, but I know a couple things about this life: poverty silence, impermanence discipline and mystery The world is not illusory, we are From crimson thread to toe tag If you are not disturbed there is something seriously wrong with you, I'm sorry And I know who I am I'll be a voice coming from nowhere, inside-- be glad for me.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the nature of life and the inevitability of personal struggles and identity.
Franz Wright's quote delves into the complexities of existence, acknowledging themes such as poverty, silence, and the fleeting nature of life. It suggests that the world is genuine rather than an illusion and emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and acceptance of one's voice and identity, even in the face of adversity. The closing line implies that one should find solace and joy within themselves amidst life's challenges.
In practice
In a reflective speech about overcoming challenges, one might use this quote to illustrate the importance of self-acceptance.
We know there are poets who are chosen: by what or whom, we no more know than what lies beyond our final breath, or what caused a certain action which resulted in the fulfillment or the desecration and collapse of what we most cared for in life.
I am in no way different from anyone else, that my predicament, my sense of aloneness or isolation may be precisely what unites me with everyone.
When I'm in certain moods, a conversation will start up in my head, and suddenly I'll realize that the language has reached a very high and interesting level, and then lines and stanzas will just kind of appear, full-blown.
I've always envied people who compose music or paint, because they don't have to be bothered with the sort of crude mess that language normally is, in everyday life and in the way we use it.
The humiliation I go through/when I think of my past/can only be described as grace./We are created by being destroyed.
Has not the experience of two centuries shown that gradualism in theory is perpetuity in practice? Is there an instance, in the history of the world, where slaves have been educated for freedom by their task-masters?
Prayer will become effective when we stop using it as a substitute for obedience.
Scotland should be nothing less than equal with all the other nations of the world.
Telling me that I’m obsessed with talking about racism in America is like telling me I’m obsessed with swimming when I’m drowning.
Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts.
A scientist may not be sure of the answer, but he's often sure he can find one. And that's a condition which is clearly not enjoyed by philosophy.
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