--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Two months after marching through Boston…" description: "\"“Two months after marching through Boston, half the regiment was dead; at the dedication, William James could almost hear the bronze Negroes breathe. T..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/robert-lowell-6901_choose-life_two-months-after-marching-through-boston_1434380.jpg" --- # Two months after marching through Boston, half the… ![“Two months after marching through Boston, half the regiment was dead; at the dedication, William James could almost hear the bronze Negroes breathe. Their monument sticks like a fishbone in the city's throat. Its Colonel is as lean as a compass-needle. He has an angry wrenlike vigilance, a…” quote by Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/robert-lowell-6901_choose-life_two-months-after-marching-through-boston_1434380.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/robert-lowell-6901_choose-life_two-months-after-marching-through-boston_1434380.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/robert-lowell-6901_choose-life_two-months-after-marching-through-boston_1434380.jpg) > ““Two months after marching through Boston, half the regiment was dead; at the dedication, William James could almost hear the bronze Negroes breathe. Their monument sticks like a fishbone in the city's throat. Its Colonel is as lean as a compass-needle. He has an angry wrenlike vigilance, a greyhound's gently tautness; he seems to wince at pleasure, and suffocate for privacy. He is out of bounds now. He rejoices in man's lovely, peculiar power to choose life and die-- when he leads his black soldiers to death, he cannot bend his back.”” [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A soldier reflects on the brutal reality of war, the loss of life, and the paradox of power over death. **In simple terms:** War shows the grim cost of power and death. Key Takeaway Recognize war’s human toll. Themes war mortality power Mood somber reflective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - military training - historical analysis - peace advocacy - mental health support Key Concepts ethics human suffering military hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - What does power over life and death reveal? - How can societies honor those lost without glorifying conflict? A Different Perspective The glorification of war masks its profound suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black Soldiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-soldiers-1329971/) [Choose life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choose-life/) [Colonel Lean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colonel-lean-5115241/) [Dedication William](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dedication-william-5115243/) [Negroes Breathe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negroes-breathe-5115242/) [Two months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-months/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/william-james/) ## Related quotes > [I used to come out here every Fourth of July as a child to picnic and to swim on the island, to tour the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethewey/i-used-to-come-out-here-every-fourth-of-july-as-a-child-to-picnic-and/) [Natasha Trethewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethewey/) > [“The fact remains that women and children were left vulnerable to sickness and disease, manipulative slaveholders, and even apathetic Union officers during the Civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-downs/the-fact-remains-that-women-and-children-were-left-vulnerable-to/) [Jim Downs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-downs/) > [“With boarding passes in hand Adeline led her children, each carrying a small suitcase, up the long gangway onto the Dominion Monarch, which would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-suppresed-i-rise/with-boarding-passes-in-hand-adeline-led-her-children-each-carrying-a/) [Captain Hank Bracker, "Suppresed I Rise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/captain-hank-bracker-suppresed-i-rise/) > [I did this whole series on the buffalo soldiers-on black soldiers-I did another series on black cowboys, and I presented myself to the gallery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-dwight/i-did-this-whole-series-on-the-buffalo-soldiers-on-black-soldiers-i/) [Ed Dwight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-dwight/) > [I was sometimes jeered by black soldiers who wanted me to sing something besides country music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charley-pride/i-was-sometimes-jeered-by-black-soldiers-who-wanted-me-to-sing/) [Charley Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charley-pride/) > [Writing 'Native Guard,' I didn't know I was working on a single book. 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The colony was devastated,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clr-james/thousands-of-brave-black-soldiers-were-dead-for-no-other-crime-than/) [CLR James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clr-james/) > [During 1866 and 1922, Native Americans and black soldiers often intermingled in the American west, on the frontier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kareem-abdul-jabbar/during-1866-and-1922-native-americans-and-black-soldiers-often/) [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kareem-abdul-jabbar/) > [“Ultra god Scott Jurek summed up the Young Guns’ unofficial creed with a quote from William James he stuck on the end of every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mcdougall/ultra-god-scott-jurek-summed-up-the-young-guns-unofficial-creed-with/) [Christopher McDougall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mcdougall/) > [“-“The greatest discovery of this generation is the knowledge that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude of mind” William James…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sekou-obadias/the-greatest-discovery-of-this-generation-is-the-knowledge-that-human/) [Sekou Obadias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sekou-obadias/) > [“As to Gurdjieff's power to renew his own energies, its essence had been understood by psychologists of the nineteenth century, decades before the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/as-to-gurdjieff-s-power-to-renew-his-own-energies-its-essence-had/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [“When we speak of living environments and their effects on us, then, we are often speaking too broadly—of the city, the countryside, and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/when-we-speak-of-living-environments-and-their-effects-on-us-then-we/) [Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/) > [“Psychologist William James said that possibly the deepest human need is the need to feel appreciated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/psychologist-william-james-said-that-possibly-the-deepest-human-need/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [“William James said, ‘We don’t laugh because we are happy. We are happy because we laugh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-sharma/william-james-said-we-don-t-laugh-because-we-are-happy-we-are-happy/) [Robin S. 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He had to leave in a hurry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/this-is-the-departure-strip-the-dream-road-whoever-built-it-left/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) [Explore all 96 Robert Lowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) ## More Choose life quotes > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Whether you face reality head on and make a life change, or deny your responsibility, you've made a choice. 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