"Darkness And Light"
The Still Centre (1939)
“The iron arc of the avoiding journey
Curves back upon my weakness at the end;
Whether the faint light spark against my face
Or in the dark my sight hide from my sight,
Centre and circumference are both my weakness.”
"Darkness And Light"
The Still Centre (1939)
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Stephen Spender 76
English poet and man of letters 1909–1995Related quotes

“My goal in life is to unite my avocation with my vocation,
As my two eyes make one in sight.”

1960's, Conversations with Samuel Beckett and Bram van Velde' (1965 - 1969)

“A new creation rises to my sight”
A Letter from Italy (1703).
Context: Fain would I Raphael's godlike art rehearse,
And show th' immortal labours in my verse,
Where from themingled strength of shade and light
A new creation rises to my sight,
Such heavenly figures from his pencil flow,
So warm with life his blended colours glow.
From theme to theme with secret pleasure tost,
Amidst the soft variety I 'm lost:
Here pleasing airs my ravish'd soul confound
With circling notes and labyrinths of sound;
Here domes and temples rise in distant views,
And opening palaces invite my Muse.

Edna St. Vincent Millay, in "First Fig" from A Few Figs from Thistles (1920); said to be a motto Roald Dahl lived by.
Misattributed
Variant: My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But, ah, my foes, and, oh, my friends —
It gives a lovely light.
Source: Boy: Tales of Childhood