i laced my shoes with sorrow and walked a weary road dead end streets don't come undone with double knots wing tipped shoes that walk on air through vacant lots
For all the ghosts and corpses that shall never know the breath of our children so long for the sacrifice and endurance of our mothers and the sustained breath of our fathers we live
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the sacrifices made by previous generations in order for us to live and thrive today.
Saul Williams' quote speaks to the profound influence of our ancestors and the legacy they leave behind. It emphasizes the sacrifices and endurance of mothers and fathers, acknowledging that our very existence is a result of their struggles and resilience. The reference to 'ghosts and corpses' serves as a metaphor for those who have passed away, reminding us of the importance of honoring their memory and the sacrifices that came before us. Ultimately, it is a tribute to the familial ties that bind us across generations.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote is perfect for a memorial event honoring ancestors.
More from Saul Williams
All quotes →There is no music more powerful than hip-hop. No other music so purely demands an instant affirmative on such a global scale. When the beat drops, people nod their heads, “yes,” in the same way that they would in conversation with a loved one, a parent, professor, or minister.
Have you ever lost yourself in a kiss? I mean pure psychedelic inebriation. Not just lustful petting but transcendental metamorphosis when you became aware that the greatness of this being was breathing into you. Licking the sides and corners of your mouth, like sealing a thousand fleshy envelopes filled with the essence of your passionate being and then opened by the same mouth and delivered back to you, over and over again - the first kiss of the rest of your life.
We are unraveling our navels so that we may ingest the sun. We are not afraid of the darkness. We trust that the moon shall guide us. We are determining the future at this very moment. We know that the heart is the philosopher's stone. Our music is our alchemy.
Why shouldn't rap be esoteric, able to take in current events, history and criticism? I guess it's this old idea of containment - that rappers, because they're black, can't and shouldn't aspire to look outside the ghetto for influence.
A lie preserved in stained glass doesn't make it more true.
Similar quotes
My mother was very proud of her Indian heritage and taught us, me and my sister Maya, to share in the pride about our culture. We used to go back to India every couple of years.
We would not have been a successful family without my father and stepfather, who were working-class men with better dreams for their children. We just wore them out.
My parents gave me stability and a belief in myself and in all the possibilities life has to offer. I was told the only limitations I would ever face were those I placed upon myself.
My grandson Sam Saunders has been playing golf since he could hold a club and I spent a lot of time with him over the years. Like my father taught me, I showed him the fundamentals of the game and helped him make adjustments as he and his game matured over the years.
The truth is that all great men have had great mothers. Great women have had, as a rule, great fathers.
My parents raised me and my siblings in an armor of advice, an ocean of alarm bells so someone wouldn't steal the breath from our lungs, so that they wouldn't make a memory of this skin.