Such a man is like a dreamer who wakes from a dream of grief to a greater sorrow yet. All that he loves is now become a torment to him. The pin has been pulled from the axis of the universe. Whatever one takes one's eye from threatens to flee away. Such a man is lost to us. He moves and speaks. But he is himself less than the merest shadow among all that he beholds. There is no picture of him possible. The smallest mark upon the page exaggerates his presence.
The passage reflects on the profound sense of loss and grief experienced by a man whose world has shifted from a dreamlike state of sorrow to a greater, more painful reality. Everything he holds dear now feels like a source of torment, indicating a deep emotional turmoil. The metaphor of the pin being pulled from the universe suggests a disruption in his existence, where the familiar becomes threatening and unstable.
This individual appears physically present, yet he is almost a shadow of himself, indicating that his inner turmoil overshadows his external actions. The imagery conveys a sense of hopelessness and disconnection from reality, suggesting that the man's experiences cannot be adequately represented or captured. His struggle leads to an existence that feels almost erased, where even the slightest markings of his being amplify his sense of absence.