Now he haunts me seldom: some fierce umbilical is broken…
““Now he haunts me seldom: some fierce umbilical is broken, I live with my own fragile hopes and sudden rising despair. Now I do not weep for my sins; I have learned to love them And to know that they are the wounds that make love real. His face illudes me; his voice, with its pity, does not ring in my ear. His maxims memorized in boyhood do not make fruitless and pointless my experience. I walk alone, but not so terrified as when he held my hand. I do not splash in the blood of his son nor hear the crunch of nails or thorns piercing protesting flesh. I am a boy again--I whose boyhood was turned to manhood in a brutal myth. Now wine is only wine with drops that do not taste of blood. The bread I eat has too much pride for transubstantiation, I, too--and together the bread and I embrace, Each grateful to be what we are, each loving from our own reality.””
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 reflects on broken bonds, personal wounds, and the painful yet authentic nature of love, finding solace in solitary growth.
In simple terms: Love is painful but makes us real.
Key Takeaway
Accept wounds as part of love’s truth.
Themes
love
pain
growth
solitude
spirituality
Mood
melancholic
introspective
Type
poetic
philosophical
When to use this quote
- recovering from a breakup
- grieving a loss
- personal healing
- spiritual crisis
Key Concepts
existentialism
psychology
redemption
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you reconcile love’s pain with its joy?
- What wounds have shaped your capacity to love?
A Different Perspective
The intensity of pain may deter some from seeking love.