Bare feet Quote by Nazim Hikmet
““MY WOMAN My woman came with me as far as Brest, she got off the train and stayed on the platform, she grew smaller and smaller, she became a kernel of wheat in the infinite blue, then all I could see were the tracks. Then she called out from Poland, but I couldn't answer, I couldn't ask, "Where are you, my rose, where are you?" "Come," she said, but I couldn't reach her, the train was going like it would never stop, I was choking with grief. Then patches of snow were rotting on sandy earth, and suddenly I knew my woman was watching : "Did you forget me," she asked, "did you forget me?" Spring marched with muddy bare feet on the sky. Then stars lighted on the telegraph wires, darkness dashed the train like rain, my woman stood under the telegraph poles, her heart pounding as if she were in my arms, the poles kept disappearing, she didn't move, the train was going like it would never stop, I was choking with grief. Then suddenly I knew I'd been on that train for years - I'm still amazed at how or why I knew it - and always singing the same great song of hope, I'm forever leaving the cities and women I love, and carrying my losses like wounds opening inside me, I'm getting closer, closer to somewhere.””
About This Quote
Source Poem: “The Train” by Nazim Hikmet, 1930s (published in collections of his poetry)
A lover watches a distant beloved fade into the horizon, feeling grief and longing as time and travel separate them, yet hope persists through memory and song
In simple terms: Longing for a lost love while traveling endlessly
Hold onto hope despite separation
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- train journeys
- war displacement
- personal loss
- creative writing
- emotional processing
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What does the train symbolize in your own life?
- How can you transform grief into creative hope?
The metaphor may romanticize suffering, overlooking practical ways to reconnect