Lie still, lie still, my breaking heart; My silent heart, lie still and break: Life, and the world, and mine own self, are changed For a dream's sake.
Interpretation
This quote expresses the pain of a heartbroken individual who is grappling with the changes in life and self caused by unattainable dreams.
In this poignant line by Christina Rossetti, the speaker addresses their heart, urging it to remain still despite the overwhelming feelings of heartbreak. The quote reflects a deep sense of loss and transformation, suggesting that the anguish of unfulfilled dreams has fundamentally altered their perception of life, self, and the world around them. It emphasizes the interplay between love, longing, and the inevitable changes that come with emotional turmoil.
In practice
During a speech at a gathering about the complexities of love.
When I am dead, my dearest, Sing no sad songs for me; Plant thou no roses at my head, Nor shady cypress tree: Be the green grass above me With showers and dewdrops wet: And if thou wilt, remember, And if thou wilt, forget. I shall not see the shadows, I shall not feel the rain; I shall not hear the nightingale Sing on as if in pain: And dreaming through the twilight That doth not rise nor set, Haply I may remember, And haply I may forget.
We must not look at goblin men, We must not buy their fruits: Who knows upon what soil they fed Their hungry thirsty roots?
To her whose heart is my heart's quiet home,_x000D_ _x000D_ To my first Love, my Mother, on whose knee_x000D_ _x000D_ I learnt love-lore that is not troublesome.
Yet come to me in dreams, that I may live My very life again though cold in death; Come back to me in dreams, that I may give Pulse for pulse, breath for breath: Speak low, lean low, As long ago, my love, how long ago
I lock my door upon myself, And bar them out; but who shall wall Self from myself, most loathed of all?
When I am dead, my dearest,_x000D_ _x000D_ Sing no sad songs for me
Love is not a relationship, love is a state of being; it has nothing to do with anybody else. One is not "in love", one is love. And of course when one is love, one is in love β but that is an outcome, a by-product, that is not the source. The source is that one is love.
I do want people to know that the songs that I wrote when I was with women were really about women. And the songs that I've written since have been fairly obvious about men.
The love of our neighbor in all its fullness simply means being able to say, "What are you going through?
Even more than we want good love for ourselves, we want it for our children, those vulnerable satellites of our hearts that we send, unsteady, into the world.
Love God, and do as you like, say the Free Spirits. Yes; but as long as you like anything contrary to God's will, you do not love Him.
The words burned on her tongue, but Minerva couldnβt give them voice. What a hopeless coward she was. She could pound on his door at midnight and demand to be respected as an individual. She could travel across the country in hopes of being appreciated for her scholarly achievements. But she still lacked the courage to ask for the one thing she wanted most. To be loved, just for herself.
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