“The thief left it behind:
the moon
at my window.”

—  Ryōkan

Written after a thief robbed his hut, as translated in The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry‎ (1993) by Stephen Mitchell, p. 162

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The thief left it behind: the moon at my window." by Ryōkan?
Ryōkan photo
Ryōkan 18
Japanese Buddhist monk 1758–1831

Related quotes

Vladimir Nabokov photo

“The sun is a thief: she lures the sea
and robs it. The moon is a thief:
he steals his silvery light from the sun.
The sea is a thief: it dissolves the moon.”

Vladimir Nabokov book Pale Fire

Source: Pale Fire

William Shakespeare photo

“The moon's an arrant thief, And her pale fire she snatches from the sun.”

William Shakespeare Timon of Athens

Source: Timon of Athens

Stephenie Meyer photo

“I was like a lost moon — my planet destroyed in some cataclysmic, disaster-movie scenario of desolation — that continued, nevertheless, to circle in a tight little orbit around the empty space left behind, ignoring the laws of gravity.”

Stephenie Meyer (1973) American author

Bella Swan, p. 201
Twilight series, New Moon (2006)

Holly Black photo

“I'm the best kind of thief, the kind that leaves behind items equal in value to those he's stolen.”

Holly Black book White Cat

Source: White Cat

“Even if he was a thief, he was my thief. I could not push him away anymore.”

Janet Lee Carey (1954) American children's writer

Source: Dragonswood

Kate Bush photo

“Gabriel before me
Raphael behind me
Michael to my right
Uriel on my left side
In the circle of fire.”

Kate Bush (1958) British recording artist; singer, songwriter, musician and record producer

Song lyrics, The Red Shoes (1993)

Kinky Friedman photo

“No lesbian left behind.”

Kinky Friedman (1944) Singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician

"Keep Gomorrah Weird", Texas Monthly (December 2004) http://www.texasmonthly.com/2004-12-01/friedman.php

Anna Akhmatova photo

“Is this the visitor from the wrong side
of the mirror? Or the shape
that suddenly flitted past my window?
Is it the new moon playing tricks,
or is someone really standing there again
between the stove and the cupboard?”

Anna Akhmatova (1889–1966) Russian modernist poet

Poem without a Hero (1963)

Kenneth Gärdestad photo

“I want to have my own moon, I can go to
Where I can forget that you left me
I can sit on my moon and do what I want
Where I stay until everything is alright.”

Kenneth Gärdestad (1948–2018) Swedish song lyricist, architect and lecturer

Jag vill ha en egen måne, jag kan åka till
Där jag kan glömma att du lämnat mig
Jag kan sitta på min måne och göra vad jag vill
Där stannar jag tills allting ordnat sig.
"Jag vill ha en egen måne", lyrics written by Kenneth
Song lyrics, With Ted Gärdestad, Undringar (1972)

“To be left behind… or to leave behind. I wonder which hurts more.”

Natsuki Takaya (1973) Manga artist

Source: Fruits Basket, Vol. 16

Related topics