Paul Celan
Poet
1920-11-23
Quotes by Paul Celan
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Each arrow you shoot offcarries its own targetinto the decidedlysecrettangle
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rush of pine scent (once upon a time),the unlicensed convictionthere ought to be another wayof sayingthis.
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How you die out in me:down to the lastworn-out knot of breathyou're there, with a splinter of life.
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Only one thing remained reachable, close and secure amid all losses: language. Yes, language. In spite of everything, it remained secure against loss.
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Don't sign your namebetween worlds,surmountthe manifold of meanings,trust the tearstain,learn to live.
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With wine and being lost, withless and less of both:I rode through the snow, do you read meI rode God far--I rode Godnear, he sang,it wasour last ride overthe hurdled humans.They cowered whenthey heard usoverhead, theywrote, theylied our neighinginto one of theirimage-ridden languages.
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Speak you too,speak as the last,say out your say.Speak-But don't split off No from Yes.Give your say this meaning too:Give it the shadow.Give it shadow enough,Give it as muchAs you know is spread round you fromMidnight to midday and midnight.Look around:See how things all come alive-By death! Alive!Speaks true who speaks shadow.But now the place shrinks, where you stand:Where now, shadow-stripped, where?Climb. Grope upwards.Thinner you grow, less knowable, finer!Finer: a threadThe star wants to descend on:So as to swim down beliow, down hereWhere it sees itself shimmer:in the swellOf wandering words.
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How you die out in me:down to the lastworn-out knot of breathyou're there, with a splinter of life.
Read quote -
Only one thing remained reachable, close and secure amid all losses: language. Yes, language. In spite of everything, it remained secure against loss.
Read quote -
Don't sign your namebetween worlds,surmountthe manifold of meanings,trust the tearstain,learn to live.
Read quote -
rush of pine scent (once upon a time),the unlicensed convictionthere ought to be another wayof sayingthis.
Read quote -
With wine and being lost, withless and less of both:I rode through the snow, do you read meI rode God far--I rode Godnear, he sang,it wasour last ride overthe hurdled humans.They cowered whenthey heard usoverhead, theywrote, theylied our neighinginto one of theirimage-ridden languages.
Read quote -
Each arrow you shoot offcarries its own targetinto the decidedlysecrettangle
Read quote -
Speak you too,speak as the last,say out your say.Speak-But don't split off No from Yes.Give your say this meaning too:Give it the shadow.Give it shadow enough,Give it as muchAs you know is spread round you fromMidnight to midday and midnight.Look around:See how things all come alive-By death! Alive!Speaks true who speaks shadow.But now the place shrinks, where you stand:Where now, shadow-stripped, where?Climb. Grope upwards.Thinner you grow, less knowable, finer!Finer: a threadThe star wants to descend on:So as to swim down beliow, down hereWhere it sees itself shimmer:in the swellOf wandering words.
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Only truthful hands write true poems. I cannot see any basic difference between a handshake and a poem.
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