Then there's the twoof us. This wordis far too short for us, it has onlyfour letters, too sparseto fill those deep barevacuums between the starsthat press on us with their deafness.It's not love we don't wishto fall into, but that fear.This word is not enough but it willhave to do. It's a singlevowel in this metallicsilence, a mouth that saysO again and again in wonderand pain, a breath, a fingergrip on a cliffside. You canhold on or let go.
by Margaret Atwood
(0 Reviews)

The quote reflects on the limitations of language, particularly the word "two," which seems inadequate to convey the depth of connection experienced between two individuals. The author emphasizes that the brevity of the word cannot fill the profound voids that exist in a relationship, which are magnified by the silence of the cosmos. It suggests a longing for something more than love, hinting at an underlying fear that complicates deeper emotional bonds.

This excerpt captures the tension between desire and fear, portraying a relationship that exists on the edge, like a precarious grip on a cliff. The imagery of "a single vowel" and a "metallic silence" underscores both the wonder and pain inherent in human connections. Ultimately, it highlights the choice between holding on and letting go, suggesting that while the word may be insufficient, it still holds significant meaning in the context of love and vulnerability.

Stats

Categories
Votes
0
Page views
8
Update
February 13, 2025

Rate the Quote

Add Comment & Review

User Reviews

Based on 0 reviews
5 Star
0
4 Star
0
3 Star
0
2 Star
0
1 Star
0
Add Comment & Review
We'll never share your email with anyone else.
More »

Other quotes in poetry

More »

Popular quotes

Taffy. He thinks about taffy. He thinks it would take his teeth out now, but he would eat it anyhow, if it meant eating it with her.
by Mitch Albom
Small towns are like metronomes; with the slightest flick, the beat changes.
by Mitch Albom
Look, if you say that science will eventually prove there is no God, on that I must differ. No matter how small they take it back, to a tadpole, to an atom, there is always something they can't explain, something that created it all at the end of the search. And no matter how far they try to go the other way – to extend life, play around with the genes, clone this, clone that, live to one hundred and fifty – at some point, life is over. And then what happens? When the life comes to an end? I shrugged. You see? He leaned back. He smiled. When you come to the end, that's where God begins.
by Mitch Albom
You say you should have died instead of me. But during my time on earth, people died instead of me, too. It happens every day. When lightning strikes a minute after you are gone, or an airplane crashes that you might have been on. When your colleague falls ill and you do not. We think such things are random. But there is a balance to it all. One withers, another grows. Birth and death are part of a whole.
by Mitch Albom
we get so many lives between birth and death. A life to be a child. A life to come of age. A life to wander, to settle, to fall in love, to parent, to test our promise, to realize our mortality-and, in some lucky cases, to do something after that realization.
by Mitch Albom
The nun said, I can forgive the language. I'm not sure I can forgive your making an obscene gesture at your mother. Ya gotta know her, Holland said. If you knew her, you'd give her the finger, too.
by John Sandford
But an ink brush, she thinks, is a skeleton key for a prisoner's mind.
by David Mitchell
There's lying," says Mum, fishing out the envelope she wrote the directions on from her handbag, "which is wrong, and there's creating the right impression, which is necessary.
by David Mitchell
Unlimited power in the hands of limited people always leads to cruelty.
by David Mitchell
Ain't you supposed to have peace when you die?'You have peace,' the old woman said, 'when you make it with yourself.
by Mitch Albom