Anna Akhmatova
Poet
1889-06-23 – 1966-03-05
Anna Akhmatova was a Russian poet and one of the major literary figures of the twentieth century.
Quotes by Anna Akhmatova
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I have a lot of work to do today; I need to slaughter memory, Turn my living soul to stone Then teach myself to live again.
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For this gloomy beast within my breast - A heart. But the thing is,We've all had to learn not to sleep for three years.In the morning we shall find outWho has died in the night.
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I know: yes, no, even I must tear offThe delicate daisy petals.Everyone on earth is destined to feelThe torments of love.
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And in the depths of music, I didn't find the answer,And again there was silence, and again the ghost of summer.
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If you were music, I would listen to you ceaselessly, and my low spirits would brighten up.
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I marvel at everything as if it were new.
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Without love, I'm more at ease, I'm sure. The sky is high, the mountain wind is sweeping, And all my thoughts are innocent and pure.
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My shadow serves as the friend I crave.
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I'm happy. But some beauty is nonesuch - The gently sloping path across the wood, The wretched bridge that's just a little skewed And that, for which, I won't be waiting much.
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This cruel age has deflected me,like a river from this course.Strayed from its familiar shores,my changeling life has flowedinto a sister channel.How many spectacles I've missed:the curtain rising without me,and falling too. How many friendsI never had the chance to meet.
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You will hear thunder and remember me, And think: she wanted storms. The rim Of the sky will be the colour of hard crimson, And your heart, as it was then, will be on fire.
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As the future ripens in the past,so the past rots in the future --a terrible festival of dead leaves.
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Flowers, cold from the dew,And autumn's approaching breath,I pluck for the warm, luxuriant braids,Which haven't faded yet.In their nights, fragrantly resinous,Entwined with delightful mystery,They will breathe in her springlikeExtraordinary beauty.But in a whirlwind of sound and fire,From her shing head they will flutterAnd falland before herThey will die, faintly fragrant still.And, impelled by faithful longing,My obedient gaze will feast upon themWith a reverent hand,Love will gather their rotting remains.
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Let my heiress have full rights,Live in my house, sing songs that I composed.Yet how slowly my strength ebbs,How the tortured breast craves air.The love of my friends, my enemies' rancorAnd the yellow roses in my bushy garden,And a lover's burning tendernessall thisI bestow upon you, messenger of dawn.Also the glory for which I was born,For which my star, like some whirlwind, soaredAnd now falls. Look, its fallingProphesies your power, love and inspiration.Preserving my generous bequest,You will live long and worthily.Thus it will be. You see, I am content,Be happy, but remember me.
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I marvel at everything as if it were new.
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This cruel age has deflected me,like a river from this course.Strayed from its familiar shores,my changeling life has flowedinto a sister channel.How many spectacles I've missed:the curtain rising without me,and falling too. How many friendsI never had the chance to meet.
Read quote -
For this gloomy beast within my breast - A heart. But the thing is,We've all had to learn not to sleep for three years.In the morning we shall find outWho has died in the night.
Read quote -
I'm happy. But some beauty is nonesuch - The gently sloping path across the wood, The wretched bridge that's just a little skewed And that, for which, I won't be waiting much.
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If you were music, I would listen to you ceaselessly, and my low spirits would brighten up.
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And in the depths of music, I didn't find the answer,And again there was silence, and again the ghost of summer.
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