Skip to content

February. Get ink, shed tears. Write of it, sob your heart…

“February. Get ink, shed tears. Write of it, sob your heart out, sing, While torrential slush that roars Burns in the blackness of the spring. Go hire a buggy. For six grivnas, Race through the noice of bells and wheels To where the ink and all you grieving Are muffled when the rainshower falls. To…” quote by Boris Pasternak
Download Open image
“February. Get ink, shed tears. Write of it, sob your heart out, sing, While torrential slush that roars Burns in the blackness of the spring. Go hire a buggy. For six grivnas, Race through the noice of bells and wheels To where the ink and all you grieving Are muffled when the rainshower falls. To where, like pears burnt black as charcoal, A myriad rooks, plucked from the trees, Fall down into the puddles, hurl Dry sadness deep into the eyes. Below, the wet black earth shows through, With sudden cries the wind is pitted, The more haphazard, the more true The poetry that sobs its heart out.”

Boris Pasternak

About This Quote

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

The poet describes a bleak, rainy winter scene where grief and creative expression intertwine, suggesting that raw, chaotic emotion fuels authentic poetry.

In simple terms: Sadness and rain inspire honest poetry.

Key Takeaway

Embrace chaotic feelings to create genuine art.

Themes

grief creativity nature authenticity

Mood

melancholic reflective

Type

poetic literary

When to use this quote

  • writing in rain
  • painting bleak landscapes
  • journaling during loss
  • musical composition in storms

Key Concepts

existentialism romanticism symbolism

Questions to Reflect On

  • How can you channel personal sorrow into creative work?
  • What does “more true” mean in artistic expression?
A Different Perspective

The metaphor may obscure practical advice for coping with grief.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

More by Boris Pasternak

Explore all 189 Boris Pasternak quotes

More Bells quotes

Browse all 790 Bells quotes