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Stevie Smith

Stevie Smith Quotes

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Famous Stevie Smith Quotes

“There is a god in whom I do not believe Yet to this god my love stretches, This god whom I do not believe in is My whole life, my life and I am his. Everything that I have of pleasure and pain (Of pain, of bitter pain and men's contempt) I give this god for him to feed upon As he is my whole life and I am his. When I am dead I hope that he will eat Everything I have been and have not been And crunch and feed upon it and grow fat Eating my life all up as it is his. - God the Eater”

LifeGodVoracity
Book:Collected Poems
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“I. An Agnostic (__of his religious friend__) He often gazes on the air And sees quite plain what is not there Peopling the wholesome void with horrid shapes Which he manoeuvres in religious japes. And yet he is more gracious than I, He has such a gracious personality. II. A Religious Man (__of his agnostic friend__) He says that religious thought and all our nerviness Is because of the great shock it was for all of us Long, long ago when animal turned human being Which is more than enough to account for everything... And yet he is more gracious than I, He has such a gracious personality.”

GodReligionKindnessAtheismSarcasmAgnosticismGraciousness
Book:Selected poems
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“I love Death because he breaks the human pattern and frees us from pleasures too prolonged as well as from the pains of this world. It is pleasant, too, to remember that Death lies in our hands; he must come if we call him. ... I think if there were no death, life would be more than flesh and blood could bear.”

IfsThinkingWorldHumansWellsHandsWould BePainRememberLyingPleasureBreakBloodThis WorldBearsPatternsFleshPleasantLife DeathFlesh And BloodLove Death
Author:Stevie Smith
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“Not Waving but Drowning Nobody heard him, the dead man, But still he lay moaning: I was much further out than you thought And not waving but drowning. Poor chap, he always loved larking And now he's dead It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way, They said. Oh, no no no, it was too cold always (Still the dead one lay moaning) I was much too far out all my life And not waving but drowning.”

MenWayHeartHas BeensSaidStillsPoorHeardColdLaysThey SaidDrowningDead ManChapsMoaning
Author:Stevie Smith
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“Marriage I think For women Is the best of opiates. It kills the thoughts That think about the thoughts, It is the best of opiates. So said Maria. But too long in solitude she'd dwelt, And too long her thoughts had felt Their strength. So when the man drew near, Out popped her thoughts and covered him with fear. Poor Maria! Better that she had kept her thoughts on a chain, For now she's alone again and all in pain; She sighs for the man that went and the thoughts that stay To trouble her dreams by night and her dreams by day.”

ThinkingMenLongSaidDreamPainNightFeltPoorTroubleSolitudeChainsCoveredSighOpiates
Book:Collected Poems and Drawings of Stevie Smith
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“My friendships, they are a very strong part of my life, they are as light as gossamer but also they are as strong as steel. And I cannot throw them off, nor altogether do with them or without them. And I love them at the point where they say: It is nice to see you again. And I love them too at the point when they say: Good-bye, come again soon. The rhythm of friendship is a very good rhythm.”

LightStrongNiceVery GoodRhythmVery StrongSteelByeMy FriendshipYou AgainGood ByeSaying Good ByeNice To See You
Book:Novel on yellow paper: or, Work it out for yourself
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“It is the privilege of the rich To waste the time of the poor To water with tears in secret A tree that grows in secret That bears fruit in secret That ripened falls to the ground in secret And manures the parent tree Oh the wicked tree of hatred and the secret The sap rising and the tears falling.”

FallGrowsParentWaterPoorSecretRichTreeTearsBearsWasteHatredFruitPrivilegeRisingWickedSapManureTears Falling
Book:New Selected Poems of Stevie Smith
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“These thoughts are depressing I know. They are depressing, I wish I was more cheerful, it is more pleasant, Also it is a duty, we should smile as well as submitting To the purpose of One Above who is experimenting With various mixtures of human character which goes best, All is interesting for him it is exciting, but not for us. There I go again. Smile, smile, and get some work to do Then you will be practically unconscious without positively having to go.”

KnowsShouldHumansWellsCharacterPurposeWishInterestingDutyExcitingVariousPleasantUnconsciousDepressingCheerfulMixturesPositively
Author:Stevie Smith
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