--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Muse When at night I wait for her to…" description: "\"“ Muse When at night I wait for her to come, Life, it seems, hangs by a single strand. What are glory, youth, freedom, in comparison with the dear welc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/anna-akhmatova-3933_life_muse-when-at-night-i-wait-for-her-to-com_2472025.jpg" --- # Muse When at night I wait for her to come, Life, it seems… ![“Muse When at night I wait for her to come, Life, it seems, hangs by a single strand. What are glory, youth, freedom, in comparison with the dear welcome guest, a flute in hand? She enters now. Pushing her veil aside, she stares through me with her attentiveness. I question her: 'And were you…” quote by Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/anna-akhmatova-3933_life_muse-when-at-night-i-wait-for-her-to-com_2472025.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/anna-akhmatova-3933_life_muse-when-at-night-i-wait-for-her-to-com_2472025.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/anna-akhmatova-3933_life_muse-when-at-night-i-wait-for-her-to-com_2472025.jpg) > ““ Muse When at night I wait for her to come, Life, it seems, hangs by a single strand. What are glory, youth, freedom, in comparison with the dear welcome guest, a flute in hand? She enters now. Pushing her veil aside, she stares through me with her attentiveness. I question her: 'And were you Dante's guide, dictating the Inferno?' She answers: 'Yes.”” [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) ## 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 likens night to a fragile moment where inspiration arrives like a guest, questioning its source and accepting its power. **In simple terms:** Night brings fleeting inspiration that feels both fragile and powerful. Key Takeaway Embrace the fleeting moments of inspiration. Themes inspiration night creativity fragility guidance Mood reflective introspective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - writing - late night contemplation - seeking artistic insight - accepting uncertainty Key Concepts existential reflection artistic muse dialogue with self Questions to Reflect On - What does the night symbolize for you? - How do you recognize inspiration when it arrives? A Different Perspective The metaphor may romanticize struggle, overlooking practical effort needed for creation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Muse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/muse/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Russian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russian/) [Russian-verse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russian-verse/) ## Related quotes > [“He loved three things alone: White peacocks, evensong, old maps of America. He hated children crying, and raspberry jam with his tea, and womanish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/he-loved-three-things-alone-white-peacocks-evensong-old-maps-of/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [“ The Last Toast I drink to our demolished hose, to all this wickedness, to you, our loneliness together, I raise my glass -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/the-last-toast-i-drink-to-our-demolished-hose-to-all-this-wickedness/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [“ Lot's Wife And the just man trailed God's messenger, his huge, light shape devoured the black hill. But uneasiness shadowed is wife and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/lot-s-wife-and-the-just-man-trailed-god-s-messenger-his-huge-light/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [“ There are Four of Us I have turned aside from everything, from the whole earthly store. The spirit and guardian of this place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/there-are-four-of-us-i-have-turned-aside-from-everything-from-the/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [“And you, my friends who have been called away, I have been spared to mourn for you and weep, not as a frozen willow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/and-you-my-friends-who-have-been-called-away-i-have-been-spared-to/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [“So many requests, always, from a lover! None when they fall out of love. I'm glad the water does not move under the colourless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/so-many-requests-always-from-a-lover-none-when-they-fall-out-of-love/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [“I don't know if you're alive or dead. Can you on earth be sought, or only when the sunsets fade be mourned secretly in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/i-don-t-know-if-you-re-alive-or-dead-can-you-on-earth-be-sought-or/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [“He was kidnapped.” I managed to keep the curse word that nearly slipped from my lips to myself. “Did they ever…” I hesitated, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-kennedy/he-was-kidnapped-i-managed-to-keep-the-curse-word-that-nearly-slipped/) [Sloane Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-kennedy/) > [“ Серафимы I Резнею кровавой на время насытясь, Устали и слуги, и доблестный витязь И входят под своды обители Божьей, Где теплятся свечи Господних…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ii-iii-in-pace-the-seraphim-i-gorged-for-a-time-with-bloody/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“ Швея Уж третий день ни с кем не говорю... А мысли — жадные и злые. Болит спина; куда ни посмотрю — Повсюду пятна…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zinaida-gippius/the-seamstress-for-two-days-i-have-not-said-a-word-spiteful-thoughts/) Zinaida Gippius > [“ The Wedding Ring Although the lamp was out, above its darkness I saw the bright reflection of a flame. My soul is bare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zinaida-gippius/the-wedding-ring-although-the-lamp-was-out-above-its-darkness-i-saw/) Zinaida Gippius > [“Я не знаю, зачем упрекают меня, Что в созданьях моих слишком много огня, Что стремлюсь я навстречу живому лучу И наветам унынья внимать не…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-not-know-why-they-reproach-me-for-having-too-much-fire-in-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I want to die young, neither loving nor grieving for anyone; to burst like a golden falling star, to shed my petals while still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-want-to-die-young-neither-loving-nor-grieving-for-anyone-to-burst/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“ Жираф Сегодня, я вижу, особенно грустен твой взгляд, И руки особенно тонки, колени обняв. Послушай: далёко, далёко на озере Чад Изысканный бродит жираф.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gumilev/the-giraffe-o-the-look-in-your-eyes-this-morning-is-more-than-usually/) Nikolai Gumilev > [“ A Baby Elephant Right now my love for you is a baby elephant Born in Berlin or in Paris, And treading with its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gumilev/a-baby-elephant-right-now-my-love-for-you-is-a-baby-elephant-born-in/) Nikolai Gumilev ## More by Anna Akhmatova > [Wild honey smells of freedom The dust - of sunlight The mouth of a young girl, like a violet But gold - smells of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/wild-honey-smells-of-freedom-the-dust-of-sunlight-the-mouth-of-a/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [Song falls silent, music is dumb, But the air burns with their fragrance, And white winter, on its knees, Observes everything with reverent attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/song-falls-silent-music-is-dumb-but-the-air-burns-with-their/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [“That is why we love this city – Dark and stern, and full of water, And we love our separations, And brief moments when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/that-is-why-we-love-this-city-dark-and-stern-and-full-of-water-and-we/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [Give me bitter years of sickness, Suffocation, insomnia, fever, Take my child and my lover, And my mysterious gift of song This I pray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/give-me-bitter-years-of-sickness-suffocation-insomnia-fever-take-my/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [Sweet to me was not the voice of man, But the wind's voice was understood by me. The burdocks and the nettles fed my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/sweet-to-me-was-not-the-voice-of-man-but-the-wind-s-voice-was/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [We learned not to meet anymore, We don't raise our eyes to one another, But we ourselves won't guarantee What could happen to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/we-learned-not-to-meet-anymore-we-don-t-raise-our-eyes-to-one-another/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [“ In Dream Black and enduring separation I share equally with you. Why weep? Gove me your hand, promise me you will come again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/in-dream-black-and-enduring-separation-i-share-equally-with-you-why/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [“But don’t raise your eyes in defiance, Protect my life, my dear. They’re brighter than first violets, But deadly to me, I fear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/but-don-t-raise-your-eyes-in-defiance-protect-my-life-my-dear-they-re/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [Forgive me, that I manage badly, Manage badly but live gloriously, That I leave traces of myself in my songs, That I appeared to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/forgive-me-that-i-manage-badly-manage-badly-but-live-gloriously-that/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [Rising from the past, my shadow Is running in silence to meet me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/rising-from-the-past-my-shadow-is-running-in-silence-to-meet-me/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [We aged a hundred years, and this happened in a single hour: the short summer had already died, the body of the ploughed plains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/we-aged-a-hundred-years-and-this-happened-in-a-single-hour-the-short/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [It was a time when only the dead smiled, happy in their peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/it-was-a-time-when-only-the-dead-smiled-happy-in-their-peace/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [But here, in the murk of conflagration, where scarcely a friend is left to know we, the survivors, do not flinch from anything, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/but-here-in-the-murk-of-conflagration-where-scarcely-a-friend-is-left/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [“Let my heiress have full rights, Live in my house, sing songs that I composed. Yet how slowly my strength ebbs, How the tortured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/let-my-heiress-have-full-rights-live-in-my-house-sing-songs-that-i/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [You do not know just what you've been forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/you-do-not-know-just-what-you-ve-been-forgiven/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) [Explore all 118 Anna Akhmatova quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“ Muse When at night I wait for her to come, Life, it seems, hangs by a single strand. What are glory, youth, freedom, in comparison with the dear welcome guest, a flute in hand? She enters now. Pushing her veil aside, she stares through me with her attentiveness. I question her: 'And were you Dante's guide, dictating the Inferno?' She answers: 'Yes.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anna Akhmatova" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/muse-when-at-night-i-wait-for-her-to-come-life-it-seems-hangs-by-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/muse-when-at-night-i-wait-for-her-to-come-life-it-seems-hangs-by-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/anna-akhmatova-3933_life_muse-when-at-night-i-wait-for-her-to-com_2472025.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/anna-akhmatova-3933_life_muse-when-at-night-i-wait-for-her-to-com_2472025.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/anna-akhmatova-3933_life_muse-when-at-night-i-wait-for-her-to-com_2472025.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Muse When at night I wait for her to come, Life, it seems, hangs by a single strand. What are glory, youth…” — Anna Akhmatova", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anna Akhmatova", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“ Muse When at night I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/muse-when-at-night-i-wait-for-her-to-come-life-it-seems-hangs-by-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/muse-when-at-night-i-wait-for-her-to-come-life-it-seems-hangs-by-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```