Bird song Quote by Charles Wright
““Clear night, thumb-top of a moon, a back-lit sky. Moon-fingers lay down their same routine On the side deck and the threshold, the white keys and the black keys. Bird hush and bird song. A cassia flower falls. I want to be bruised by God. I want to be strung up in a strong light and singled out. I want to be stretched, like music wrung from a dropped seed. I want to be entered and picked clean. And the wind says “What?” to me. And the castor beans, with their little earrings of death, say “What?” to me. And the stars start out on their cold slide through the dark. And the gears notch and the engines wheel.””
About This Quote
Source Poem: “The Gears of Night”, 2010
The poem blends vivid night imagery with yearning for divine intensity and transformation, using natural and mechanical metaphors.
In simple terms: Seeks intense, transformative experience through vivid night imagery.
Key Takeaway
Embrace intense, transformative moments.
Themes
nature
spirituality
transformation
Mood
mysterious
intense
Type
poetic
philosophical
When to use this quote
- night walks
- creative writing
- meditative practice
- spiritual reflection
Key Concepts
Metaphor
sensory detail
existential yearning
Questions to Reflect On
- What does “being bruised by God” signify to you?
- How do natural and mechanical images shape the mood?
A Different Perspective
The abstract language may obscure clear meaning for some readers.
