Burning inside Quote by Michael Ondaatje
““I have been seeing dragons again. Last night, hunched on a beaver dam, one held a body like a badly held cocktail; his tail, keeping the beat of a waltz, sent a morse of ripples to my canoe. They are not richly bright but muted like dawns or the vague sheen on a fly's wing. Their old flesh drags in folds as they drop into grey pools, strain behind a tree. Finally the others saw one today, trapped, tangled in our badminton net. The minute eyes shuddered deep in the creased face while his throat, strangely fierce, stretched to release an extinct burning inside: pathetic loud whispers as four of us and the excited spaniel surrounded him.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The English Patient, 1992
The narrator describes a surreal encounter with a dragon, blending nature, violence, and fragile beauty.
In simple terms: A dream‑like vision of a dragon among everyday scenes.
Key Takeaway
Notice wonder in ordinary moments.
Themes
imagination
nature
violence
beauty
transience
Mood
poetic
contemplative
Type
literary
descriptive
When to use this quote
- camping trips
- river outings
- storytelling sessions
- artistic inspiration
- meditative walks
Key Concepts
mythic symbolism
sensory detail
Questions to Reflect On
- What does the dragon represent in your life?
- How can you find beauty in the mundane?
A Different Perspective
The fantastical may obscure practical reality.
![“The core of the film [Hunt for the Wilderpeople] is that relationship. Whether they're getting on or whether they're not. If that relationship works, then everything else works as well. And you kind of almost, sort of, gives into a realm of something like New Zealand magic realism... There is no…” quote by Sam Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/115/sam-neill-10608_core_the-core-of-the-film-hunt-for-the-wilder_157827.jpg)
