Fitness Quote by Judith Wright
““Tunnelling through the night, the trains pass in a splendour of power, with a sound like thunder shaking the orchards, waking the young from a dream, scattering like glass the old mens' sleep, laying a black trail over the still bloom of the orchards; the trains go north with guns. Strange primitive piece of flesh, the heart laid quiet hearing their cry pierce through its thin-walled cave recalls the forgotten tiger, and leaps awake in its old panic riot; and how shall mind be sober, since blood's red thread still binds us fast in history? Tiger, you walk through all our past and future, troubling the children's sleep'; laying a reeking trail across our dreams of orchards. Racing on iron errands, the trains go by, and over the white acres of our orchards hurl their wild summoning cry, their animal cry…. the trains go north with guns.””
About This Quote
Source Poem: “The Train” by Judith Wright, 1942
The poem juxtaposes the powerful, disruptive force of trains with the fragile, dreamlike state of nature and humanity, urging awareness of history’s violent currents that bind us.
In simple terms: Trains roar, shaking nature and memory, reminding us of past violence.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and confront the lingering impacts of history.
Themes
history
violence
memory
nature
industrialization
Mood
reflective
somber
urgent
Type
poetic
political
philosophical
When to use this quote
- urban development
- environmental change
- cultural memory
- personal reflection
Key Concepts
colonialism
trauma
collective consciousness
Questions to Reflect On
- How do modern infrastructures echo past conflicts?
- What role does memory play in shaping our response to change?
A Different Perspective
The metaphor may over‑dramaticize, obscuring nuanced causes.
![“What actually happened was something absurdly simple and unspectacular: I stopped thinking. [...] Reason and imagination and all mental chatter died down. For once, words really failed me. Past and future dropped away. I forgot who and what I was, my name, manhood, animalhood, all that could be…” quote by Douglas Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3cb/douglas-harding-37614_blue-sky_what-actually-happened-was-something-abs_102127.jpg)
