To me, poetry is somebody standing up, so to speak, and saying, with as little concealment as possible, what it is for him or her to be on earth at this moment
Galway KinnellRead
Little sleep's-head sprouting hair in the moonlight, when I come back we will go out together, we will walk out together among, the ten thousand things, each scratched too late with such knowledge, the wages of dying is love.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the enduring connection of love even in the face of mortality.
In this poignant line, Galway Kinnell captures the beauty and complexity of love amidst the inevitability of death. The imagery of the moonlight and the act of walking together symbolizes a deep bond that transcends time and mortality, suggesting that love continues to flourish despite the fleeting nature of life. The 'wages of dying is love' emphasizes that the ultimate reward or consequence of life and death is the love we experience and share.
Themes
LoveMortalityConnectionBeautyTranscendenceExperience
In practice
Example use cases
During a wedding ceremony, one might use this quote to emphasize the depth of love.
More from Galway Kinnell
All quotes →When I sleepwalk into your room, and pick you up, and hold you up in the moonlight, you cling to me hard, as if clinging could save us. I think you think I will never die, I think I exude to you the permanence of smoke or stars, even as my broken arms heal themselves around you.
Galway KinnellRead
Turn on the dream you lived through the unwavering gaze. It is as you thought: the living burn. In the floating days may you discover grace.
Galway KinnellRead
Second-hand gloves will become lovely again, their memories are what give them the need for other hands. And the desolation of lovers is the same: that enormous emptiness carved out of such tiny beings as we are asks to be filled; the need for the new love is faithfulness to the old.
Galway KinnellRead
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