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My mouth blooms like a cut. I've been wronged all year…

“My mouth blooms like a cut. I've been wronged all year, tedious nights, nothing but rough elbows in them and delicate boxes of Kleenex calling crybaby crybaby, you fool! Before today my body was useless. Now it's tearing at its square corners. It's tearing old Mary's garments off, knot by knot and…” quote by Anne Sexton
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““My mouth blooms like a cut. I've been wronged all year, tedious nights, nothing but rough elbows in them and delicate boxes of Kleenex calling crybaby crybaby, you fool! Before today my body was useless. Now it's tearing at its square corners. It's tearing old Mary's garments off, knot by knot and see - Now it's shot full of these electric bolts. Zing! A resurrection! Once it was a boat, quite wooden and with no business, no salt water under it and in need of some paint. It was no more than a group of boards. But you hoisted her, rigged her. She's been elected. My nerves are turned on. I hear them like musical instruments. Where there was silence the drums, the strings are incurably playing. You did this. Pure genius at work. Darling, the composer has stepped into fire.””

Anne Sexton

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker describes a painful transformation, likening personal anguish to a ship being rebuilt, culminating in a fierce, electric rebirth.

In simple terms: A painful change leads to a powerful new self.

Key Takeaway

Embrace the chaos of change to discover renewed strength.

Themes

pain transformation rebirth creativity self‑discovery

Mood

intense reflective

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

  • overcoming trauma
  • creative writing
  • mental health coping
  • personal reinvention

Key Concepts

metaphor psychic upheaval artistic expression

Questions to Reflect On

  • What parts of your own struggle feel like a ship being repaired?
  • How can you channel inner turmoil into creative energy?
A Different Perspective

The intense imagery may overwhelm rather than clarify the message.

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