--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The word landed with a stony thud Onto my…" description: "\"The word landed with a stony thud Onto my still-beating breast. Nevermind, I was prepared, I will manage with the rest. I have a lot of work to do toda..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/anna-akhmatova-3933_breasts_the-word-landed-with-a-stony-thud-onto-m_2759505.jpg" --- # The word landed with a stony thud Onto my still-beating… ![“The word landed with a stony thud Onto my still-beating breast. Nevermind, I was prepared, I will manage with the rest. I have a lot of work to do today; I need to slaughter memory, Turn my living soul to stone Then teach myself to live again. . . But how. The hot summer rustles Like a carnival…” quote by Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/anna-akhmatova-3933_breasts_the-word-landed-with-a-stony-thud-onto-m_2759505.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/anna-akhmatova-3933_breasts_the-word-landed-with-a-stony-thud-onto-m_2759505.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/anna-akhmatova-3933_breasts_the-word-landed-with-a-stony-thud-onto-m_2759505.jpg) > “The word landed with a stony thud Onto my still-beating breast. Nevermind, I was prepared, I will manage with the rest. I have a lot of work to do today; I need to slaughter memory, Turn my living soul to stone Then teach myself to live again. . . But how. The hot summer rustles Like a carnival outside my window; I have long had this premonition Of a bright day and a deserted house.” [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. A vivid, painful inner struggle with memory, mortality, and the desire to revive one’s spirit. **In simple terms:** Inner battle with memory and renewal. Key Takeaway Seek renewal despite pain. Themes pain memory renewal Mood somber introspective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - grief coping - creative writing - mental health Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you process painful memories? - What revives your spirit? A Different Perspective May be overwhelming to confront. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breasts/) [Carnivals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carnivals/) [Hot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hot/) [Hot summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hot-summer/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Landed Stony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landed-stony-3159241/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Manage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manage/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Nevermind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nevermind/) [Premonition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/premonition/) [Prepared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prepared/) [Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaughter/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stones/) [Stony Thud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stony-thud-3159239/) [Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer/) [Summer Rustles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer-rustles-3159240/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Thud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thud/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Window](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/window/) ## Related quotes > [“I recoiled with a thud of recognition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genie-frisbee/i-recoiled-with-a-thud-of-recognition/) [Genie Frisbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genie-frisbee/) > [“That’s a good name—ground! I wonder if it will be friends with me? And the rest, after a sudden wet thud, was silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/that-s-a-good-name-ground-i-wonder-if-it-will-be-friends-with-me-and/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“The important thing is not to shout at this point, Vimes told himself. Do not…what do they call it…go postal? Treat this as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-important-thing-is-not-to-shout-at-this-point-vimes-told-himself/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“He immediately went down with a thud and I was pretty certain most of the furniture in the room jumped when he landed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/he-immediately-went-down-with-a-thud-and-i-was-pretty-certain-most-of/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [“There was a click. There was a noise like a partridge. There was a thud. There was silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-was-a-click-there-was-a-noise-like-a-partridge-there-was-a-thud/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“A dead man fell from the sky, landing at my feet with a thud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-corby/a-dead-man-fell-from-the-sky-landing-at-my-feet-with-a-thud/) [Gary Corby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-corby/) > [“When she stamped her foot, it made a strange thud on the desolate beach. Like a heartbeat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-adams-richards/when-she-stamped-her-foot-it-made-a-strange-thud-on-the-desolate/) [David Adams Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-adams-richards/) > [I fell off my pink cloud with a thud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/i-fell-off-my-pink-cloud-with-a-thud/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) > [“Oh, that's just Thud! That's easy!" yapped a voice. Both men turned to look at Horsefry, who had been made perky by sheer relief.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/oh-that-s-just-thud-that-s-easy-yapped-a-voice-both-men-turned-to/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“A young man of godlilke proportions\* was standing in the doorway. \* The better class of gods, anyway. Not the ones with the tentacles, obviously.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/a-young-man-of-godlilke-proportions-was-standing-in-the-doorway-the/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [The dew has fallen with a particularly sickening thud this morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-dew-has-fallen-with-a-particularly-sickening-thud-this-morning/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [One moment you appear to be riding the crest of a wave, only to have the rug pulled away from you, bringing you back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrow/one-moment-you-appear-to-be-riding-the-crest-of-a-wave-only-to-have/) [John Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrow/) > [Hey man, did you see that? His body hit the street with such a beautiful thud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/hey-man-did-you-see-that-his-body-hit-the-street-with-such-a/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I became a connoisseur of that nasty thud a manuscript makes when it comes through the letter box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-herriot/i-became-a-connoisseur-of-that-nasty-thud-a-manuscript-makes-when-it/) [James Herriot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-herriot/) > [You know how Mexican restaurants always have "border" in the name: Border Grill, Border Cafe. You wouldn't do that to black people: Kunta's Kitchen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lopez/you-know-how-mexican-restaurants-always-have-border-in-the-name/) [George Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lopez/) ## 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 Breasts quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Where shall the lover rest, Whom the fates sever From his true maiden's breast, Parted for ever? Where, through groves deep and high, Sounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/where-shall-the-lover-rest-whom-the-fates-sever-from-his-true-maiden/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [The earth is like the breasts of a woman: useful as well as pleasing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-earth-is-like-the-breasts-of-a-woman-useful-as-well-as-pleasing/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I feel that between my experience and my mother's, breast cancer is a little bit like someone who lives next door. I know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-nixon/i-feel-that-between-my-experience-and-my-mother-s-breast-cancer-is-a/) [Cynthia Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-nixon/) > [Poems come from ordinary experiences and objects, I think. 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It is, rather, that a breast exposed a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-pitts/the-headline-here-is-not-that-a-woman-exposed-a-breast-it-is-rather/) [Leonard Pitts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-pitts/) > [With breast cancer, it's all about detection. You have to educate young women and encourage them to do everything they have to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-rancic/with-breast-cancer-it-s-all-about-detection-you-have-to-educate-young/) [Bill Rancic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-rancic/) > [We must not forget that what I mean by the conquest of the world by spiritual thought is the sending out of the life-giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/we-must-not-forget-that-what-i-mean-by-the-conquest-of-the-world-by/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The women I know who have gone through breast cancer still laugh a lot. They're not crying all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/the-women-i-know-who-have-gone-through-breast-cancer-still-laugh-a/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [Having breast cancer is massive amounts of no fun,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/having-breast-cancer-is-massive-amounts-of-no-fun/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [If a man is pictured chopping off a woman's breast, it only gets an R rating; but if, God forbid, a man is pictured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-struthers/if-a-man-is-pictured-chopping-off-a-woman-s-breast-it-only-gets-an-r/) [Sally Struthers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-struthers/) [Browse all 1,224 Breasts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breasts/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The word landed with a stony thud Onto my still-beating breast. Nevermind, I was prepared, I will manage with the rest. I have a lot of work to do today; I need to slaughter memory, Turn my living soul to stone Then teach myself to live again. . . But how. 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