Balm of the summer night, balm of the ordinary, imperial joy and sorrow of human existence, the dreamed as well as the lived— what could be dearer than this, given the closeness of death?
Louise GluckRead
I pretended indifference…even in the presence of love, in the presence of hunger. And the more deeply I felt, the less able I was to respond.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the struggle of showing vulnerability and emotion, particularly in moments of deep feeling or love.
Louise Gluck expresses the internal conflict of feeling intense emotion while struggling to visibly react to it. The notion of pretending indifference underscores a defense mechanism against vulnerability, suggesting that even profound feelings of love and desire can lead to paralysis in emotional expression.
Themes
IndifferenceLoveVulnerabilityEmotionResponse
In practice
Example use cases
During a heartfelt speech at a wedding, one might quote this to express the complexities of love.
More from Louise Gluck
All quotes →I caution you as I was never cautioned: You will never let go, you will never be satiated. You will be damaged and scarred, you will continue to hunger. Your body will age, you will continue to need. You will want the earth, then more of the earth-- Sublime, indifferent, it is present, it will not respond. It is encompassing, it will not minister. Meaning, it will feed you, it will ravish you. It will not keep you alive.
Louise GluckRead
The Red Poppy The great thing is not having a mind. Feelings: oh, I have those; they govern me. I have a lord in heaven called the sun, and open for him, showing him the fire of my own heart, fire like his presence. What could such glory be if not a heart? Oh my brothers and sisters, were you like me once, long ago, before you were human? Did you permit yourselves to open once, who would never open again? Because in truth I am speaking now the way you do. I speak because I am shattered.
Louise GluckRead
He takes her in his arms He wants to say I love you, nothing can hurt you But he thinks this is a lie, so he says in the end You're dead, nothing can hurt you which seems to him a more promising beginning, more true.
Louise GluckRead
Toward his critics, the artist harbors a defensive ace: knowledge that the future will erase the present.
Louise GluckRead
I preferred the simplest vocabulary.
Louise GluckRead
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