Day night Quote by Algernon Charles Swinburne
““As the dawn loves the sunlight that must cease Ere dawn again may rise and pass in peace; Must die that she being dead may live again, To be by his new rising nearly slain. So rolls the great wheel of the great world round, And no change in it and no fault is found, And no true life of perdurable breath, And surely no irrevocable death. Day after day night comes that day may break, And day comes back for night’s reiterate sake. Each into each dies, each of each is born: Day past is night, shall night past not be morn? Out of this moonless and faint-hearted night That love yet lives in, shall there not be light? Light strong as love, that love may live in yet? Alas, but how shall foolish hope forget How all these loving things that kill and die Meet not but for a breath’s space and pass by? Night is kissed once of dawn and dies, and day But touches twilight and is rapt away. So may my love and her love meet once more, And meeting be divided as of yore. Yea, surely as the day-star loves the sun And when he hath risen is utterly undone, So is my love of her and hers of me— And its most sweetness bitter as the sea.””
About This Quote
The poem reflects on cyclical nature of life, death, love, and hope, using dawn and night as metaphors for renewal and loss.
In simple terms: Life repeats cycles of love, loss, and renewal.
Key Takeaway
Accept change as part of life's endless cycle.
Themes
change
love
mortality
hope
Mood
melancholic
contemplative
Type
poetic
philosophical
When to use this quote
- grief processing
- creative writing
- spiritual contemplation
Key Concepts
cyclical time
existentialism
nature metaphor
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you find meaning in recurring loss?
- What role does hope play in darkness?
A Different Perspective
Optimism may ignore inevitable suffering.
