“I held my breath, for to me there is nothing more awe-inspiring than when a man discovers to you the nakedness of his soul.”

"The pool", p. 140
Short Stories, Collected short stories 1

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W. Somerset Maugham 158
British playwright, novelist, short story writer 1874–1965

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“At the door of life, by the gate of breath,
There are worse things waiting for men than death;
Death could not sever my soul and you,
As these have severed your soul from me.”

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Context: p>I had grown pure as the dawn and the dew,
You had grown strong as the sun or the sea.
But none shall triumph a whole life through:
For death is one, and the fates are three.
At the door of life, by the gate of breath,
There are worse things waiting for men than death;
Death could not sever my soul and you,
As these have severed your soul from me.You have chosen and clung to the chance they sent you,
Life sweet as perfume and pure as prayer.
But will it not one day in heaven repent you?
Will they solace you wholly, the days that were?
Will you lift up your eyes between sadness and bliss,
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And tremble and turn and be changed? Content you;
The gate is strait; I shall not be there.</p

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