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Quote by Kwame Dawes

“What has been taken from you, it is this that owns you, and you, shell of all joy, must walk through this city as beautiful as the last summer flowers.”

Quote by Kwame Dawes

Author

Kwame Dawes
Kwame Dawes

Kwame Dawes is a renowned poet, born on July 28, 1962. His poetry is deeply influenced by Caribbean and African cultures, known for its unique style and profound themes. more

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“This is a special kind of depression. It comes from the great burden laid on our shoulders. A depression you can't shake off, so that it is part and parcel of you all the time you go on with your military activities. This depression leads to melancholy. It's od to point to somebody young and say: there goes a sad man. That is our lot. One of the things that weighs me down most is that it's forbidden to speak of this sadness outside the limits of the army. In fact, I'm forbidden to share it with anyone. The main reason is the secrecy that surrounds everything that has to do with the military. In order to explain the depression, you have to talk about its origins, and that's prohibited, of course. Another reason is that it's almost impossible to explain the nature of this sadness to anyone who doesn't know it; the sadness will always be interpreted as something else. Within itself it's not mentioned-- It exists, but for each man separately. it is never discussed. Thus another factor comes into the picture-- loneliness. But loneliness, sadness and depression are the lot of great masses of people in this world. Well, then, What kind of God-forsaken world are we living in? It contains so much beauty, so much grandeur and nobility- but men destroy everything that is beautiful in the world. It seems, indeed, that from time immemorial we have been forgotten by the gods.”

“The sadness of men- mankind, I guess you'd say. It's that we never have time to be what we know we should be, or could be. And it's not because of the time itself, the gods know we waste enough of it not doing anything at all, but because of what we are.... It's caring so much that keeps us from being what we could be. Caring so much. About the wrong things maybe. But still, if we didn't what would we be?”