Like a bird with broken wing_x000D_ _x000D_ that has traveled through wind for years . . ._x000D_ _x000D_ I sleep and my heart stays awake . . .
Giorgos SeferisRead
Leaves like rusty tin_x000D_ _x000D_ for the desolate mind that has seen the end-_x000D_ _x000D_ the barest glimmerings._x000D_ _x000D_ Leaves aswirl with gulls_x000D_ _x000D_ made wild by winter.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the desolation of the mind in a winter landscape, juxtaposing bleakness with fleeting moments of beauty.
Giorgos Seferis uses imagery of rusty leaves and winter to convey a sense of mental desolation and a longing for renewal. It suggests that although the mind may feel barren and overwhelmed by an end, there are still faint signs of hope and beauty, represented by the glimmerings—brief moments that can inspire despite the surrounding desolation.
Themes
DesolationMindWinterBeautyHopeNature
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a contemplative speech about mental health and the importance of finding hope in dark times.
More from Giorgos Seferis
All quotes →For poetry there exists neither large countries nor small. Its domain is in the heart of all men.
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You spoke about things they couldn't see and so they laughed. Yet to row up the dark river against the current, to take the unknown road blindly, stubbornly, and to search for words rooted like the knotted olive tree- let them laugh. And to yearn for the other world to inhabit today's suffocating loneliness, this ravaged present- let them be.
Giorgos SeferisRead
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