“When you smiled,
Everything in the room was shattered;
Only you remained whole
In frozen wonder, as though you stared
At your image in the broken mirror
Where it had always been silverly carried.”

— Stephen Spender

"To A Spanish Poet"
The Still Centre (1939)

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

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Stephen Spender 76

English poet and man of letters 1909–1995

Richard Paul Evans (1962) American writer

Source: Promise Me

“Stella, I never knew you but here I am, in your room, a week after your death. … I thought of you, Stella, and wondered if you watched your moments, or if they all snuck by. I whispered your name into the day, carried on for you in reverence, and I felt you rest and continue the smile.”

Vanna Bonta (1958–2014) Italian-American writer, poet, inventor, actress, voice artist (1958-2014)

"Stella's Earrings"
Degrees: Thought Capsules and Micro Tales (1989)

“How can you smile as though your whole life hasn't capsized”

Michael Ondaatje book The English Patient

Source: The English Patient

“Afghanistan is not only the mirror of the Afghans: it is the mirror of the world. 'If you do not like the image in the mirror, do not break the mirror, break your face,' says an old Persian proverb.”

Ahmed Rashid book Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia

Source: Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia

“What you have broken is the image of reverence of India
Do you have this idea, you who have broken the dome of the mosque
Not the building but our hearts have been broken
Your wickedness is limitless”

Jagan Nath Azad (1918–2004) Indian writer (1918-2004)

Quoted in "Two Urdu Poems Reflect How Babri Masjid Demolition Was an Attack on India as a Whole" https://thewire.in/books/babri-masjid-demolition-urdu-poetry-jagan-nath-azad, The Wire, 6 December, 2017.
Original: Ye tune Hind ki hurmat ke aaine ko toda hai
Khabar bhi hai tujhe Masjid ka gumbad todne wale
Humare dil ko toda hai imaarat ko nahi toda
Khabaasat ki bhi had hoti hai had todne wale