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Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay Quotes

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Famous Edna St. Vincent Millay Quotes

“Marriage...one of the most civilized institutions in the world...But...swimming is one of the most wonderful of sports, and yet there are always some people who cannot swim who insist on going into the water and getting drowned. Many people spoil marriage in a like manner. One should be sure she knows how to be married before rushing into it.”

PeopleKnowsWorldShouldSportsWaterKnow HowWonderfulMarriedInstitutionsCivilizedSwimSwimmingSpoilBeing MarriedRushing
Author:Edna St. Vincent Millay
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“What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why, I have forgotten, and what arms have lain Under my head till morning, but the rain Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh Upon the glass and listen for reply, And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain For unremembered lads that not again Will turn to me at midnight with a cry. Thus in the winter stands the lonely tree, Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one, Yet knows its boughs more silent than before: I cannot say what loves have come and gone, I only know that summer sang in me A little while, that in me sings no more.”

KnowsHeartLittlesPainTurnsMorningGoneTreeCryArmsMy HeartQuietSummerBirdRainLonelySilentWinterForgottenLipsGlassesGhostTonightMidnightSighLadLonely Trees
Author:Edna St. Vincent Millay
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“Spring TO what purpose, April, do you return again? Beauty is not enough. You can no longer quiet me with the redness Of little leaves opening stickily. I know what I know. The sun is hot on my neck as I observe The spikes of the crocus. The smell of the earth is good. It is apparent that there is no death. But what does that signify? Not only under ground are the brains of men Eaten by maggots. Life in itself Is nothing, An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs. It is not enough that yearly, down this hill, April Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.”

KnowsMenLittlesDoeEnoughEarthPurposeBrainSunFlowerReturnQuietSpringEmptyHotSmellOpeningFlightCupsHillsIdiotNecksAprilStairsBabblingMaggotsCrocusesEmpty Cup
Book:Second April: Easyread Super Large 18pt Edition
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“And what are you that, missing you, I should be kept awake As many nights as there are days With weeping for your sake? And what are you that, missing you, As many days as crawl I should be listening to the wind And looking at the wall? I know a man that’s a braver man And twenty men as kind, And what are you, that you should be The one man in my mind? Yet women’s ways are witless ways, As any sage will tell,— And what am I, that I should love So wisely and so well?”

KnowsMenWayShouldMindWellsKindNightMissingWindWallListeningTwentiesSakeAwakeOne ManSageWeeping
Book:Edna St. Vincent Millay: Selected Poems
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“I know I am but summer to your heart, And not the full four seasons of the year; And you must welcome from another part Such noble moods as are not mine, my dear. No gracious weight of golden fruits to sell Have I, nor any wise and wintry thing; And I have loved you all too long and well To carry still the high sweet breast of Spring. Wherefore I say: O love, as summer goes, I must be gone, steal forth with silent drums, That you may hail anew the bird and rose When I come back to you, as summer comes. Else will you seek, at some not distant time, Even your summer in another clime.”

KnowsYearsWellsHeartMayLongStillsGoneWiseFourMinesSweetSummerSpringBirdSeasonsWeightSellsRoseSilentFruitDearNobleMoodStealingGoldenWelcomeBreastsGraciousHailFour Seasons
Book:Millay: Poems
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“You wrote me a beautiful letter, I wonder if you meant it to be as beautiful as it was. I think you did; for somehow I know that your feeling for me, however slight it is, is of the nature of love... When you tell me to come, I will come, by the next train, just as I am. This is not meekness, be assured; I do not come naturally by meekness; know that it is a proud surrender to You.”

IfsThinkingKnowsLoveFeelingsDreamBeautifulNextWonderProudLettersTrainSurrenderAssuredMeekness
Author:Edna St. Vincent Millay
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