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I looked silently at her lips. All women are lips, all…

“I looked silently at her lips. All women are lips, all lips. Some are pink and firmly round: a ring, a tender guardrail from the whole world. And then there are these ones: a second ago they weren’t here, and just now — like a knife-slit — they are here, still dripping sweet blood.” quote by Yevgeny Zamyatin
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““I looked silently at her lips. All women are lips, all lips. Some are pink and firmly round: a ring, a tender guardrail from the whole world. And then there are these ones: a second ago they weren’t here, and just now — like a knife-slit — they are here, still dripping sweet blood.””

Yevgeny Zamyatin

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 obsesses over a lover’s lips, seeing them as both intimate and violent symbols of desire

In simple terms: Lips represent desire, intimacy, and sudden, sharp emotional impact

Key Takeaway

Recognize beauty’s fleeting, sometimes painful nature

Themes

desire beauty violence transience

Mood

intense poetic

Type

literary sensual

When to use this quote

  • romantic longing
  • artistic inspiration
  • personal reflection
  • emotional turbulence

Key Concepts

sensuality ephemerality psychological intensity

Questions to Reflect On

  • What does the image of lips reveal about your view of intimacy?
  • How do you balance beauty with the potential for hurt?
A Different Perspective

The metaphor may romanticize pain, overlooking consent and agency

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