Our dreams are luminous, a cast fire upon the world. Morning arrives and that's it. Sunlight darkens the earth.
How many years have slipped through our hands? At least as many as the constellations we still can identify. The quarter moon, like a light skiff, floats out of the mist-remnants Of last night’s hard rain. It, too, will slip through our fingers with no ripple, without us in it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the passage of time and the fleeting nature of life, suggesting that moments vanish like the moon through mist.
In this quote, Charles Wright meditates on the ephemeral nature of time and experiences. He draws a parallel between the years that seemingly slip away unnoticed and the constellations in the night sky, which remain constant even as individual moments fade from memory. The imagery of the quarter moon floating through the mist evokes a sense of beauty coupled with loss, emphasizing that life’s moments, like the moon and rain, can pass without leaving a mark, highlighting the inevitability of time and our transient existence within it.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a reflective speech on life's impermanence at a memorial service.
More from Charles Wright
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All you have in life is your reputation: you may be very rich, but if you lose your good name, then you'll never be happy. The thought will always lurk at the back of your mind that people don't trust you.
Making a living and making a life sometimes point in opposite directions.
It is often said that before you die your life passes before your eyes. It is in fact true. It's called living.
(Ravic speaking of a butterfly caught in the Louvre) In the morning it would search for flowers and life and the light honey of blossoms and would not find them and later it would fall asleep on millennial marble, weakened by then, until the grip of the delicate, tenacious feet loosened and it fell, a thin leaf of premature autumn.
To some extent, 'The Wall' is asking the question, 'Do you want a voice? And if you do, you better bloody well go out and get it because it's not going to be handed to you on a plate.'
...You can go your whole life collecting days, and none will outweigh the one you wish you had back.