My turn shall also come: I sense the spreading of a wing.
Osip MandelstamRead
Perhaps the whisper was born before lips, And the leaves in treelessness circled and flew, And those, to whom we impart our experience as bliss, Acquire their forms before we do
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that our experiences and expressions exist in a realm beyond our physical creation, emphasizing the depth of communication and existence.
Osip Mandelstam's quote reflects on the nature of existence and expression, positing that the essence of communication may arise before physical manifestations. It suggests that the experiences we share—our joys and insights—are intrinsic to our being, transcending the mere act of speaking or the physical world around us. The imagery of whispers being born before lips evokes the idea that thoughts and feelings have an existence all their own prior to their articulation, inviting deeper contemplation about the connection between experience, expression, and the essence of life.
Themes
CommunicationExperienceExpressionExistencePhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a university literature class discussing the depth of human expression.
More from Osip Mandelstam
All quotes →The people need poetry that will be their own secret_x000D_ To keep them awake forever,_x000D_ And bathe them in the bright-haired wave of its breathing.
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Perhaps my whisper was already born before my lips.
Osip MandelstamRead
And I walk out of space Into an overgrown garden of values, And tear up seeming stability And self-comprehension of causes. And your, infinity, textbook I read by myself, without people - Leafless, savage medical book, A problem book of gigantic radicals.
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