Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Galway Kinnell

Quote by Galway Kinnell

“Wait, for now. Distrust everything if you have to. But trust the hours. Haven’t they carried you everywhere, up to now? Personal events will become interesting again. Hair will become interesting. Pain will become interesting. Buds that open out of season will become interesting. Second-hand gloves will become lovely again; their memories are what give them the need for other hands. 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. Wait. Don’t go too early. You’re tired. But everyone’s tired. But no one is tired enough. Only wait a little and listen: music of hair, music of pain, music of looms weaving our loves again. Be there to hear it, it will be the only time, most of all to hear your whole existence, rehearsed by the sorrows, play itself into total exhaustion.”

Quote by Galway Kinnell

Work

Mortal Acts Mortal Words

Browse quotes and source details for this work. more

Author

Galway Kinnell
Galway Kinnell

Galway Kinnell was an American poet celebrated for his evocative and often mystical imagery. His poetry frequently delved into themes of nature, spirituality, and the human condition, earning him a place among the most influential poets in American literature. Kinnell's work is known for its emotional depth and lyrical beauty, which have garnered him numerous awards and a lasting legacy. more

You May Also Like

“Three creaks. She stepped three times. What is the meaning of it? Three creaks, three weeks? If she comes back for her shoes in three days, then I only need to empty them another three times. If it really is three weeks that were meant, what then. If three months, what then. Three years. That's why I had to write it down now. By then I may no longer believe I heard anything in Miri's room.”