“The pavement slabs burn loose beneath my feet,
A chafing savage, down the decent street;
And passion rends my vitals as I pass,
Where boldly shines your shuttered door of glass.”

—  Claude McKay

The White House, l. 5-8

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 pavement slabs burn loose beneath my feet, A chafing savage, down the decent street; And passion rends my vitals …" by Claude McKay?
Claude McKay photo
Claude McKay13
Jamaican American writer, poet 1889–1948

Related quotes

Eric Hoffer photo

“When hopes and dreams are loose in the streets, it is well for the timid to lock doors, shutter windows and lie low until the wrath has passed. For there is often a monstrous incongruity between the hopes, however noble and tender, and the action which follows them. It is as if ivied maidens and garlanded youths were to herald the four horsemen of the apocalypse.”

Eric Hoffer book The True Believer

Section 5, Ch. 2: The Desire For Substitutes
The True Believer (1951), Part One: The Appeal of Mass Movements

George William Russell photo

“By many a dream of God and man my thoughts in shining flocks were led:
But as I went through Patrick Street the hopes and prophecies were dead.
The hopes and prophecies were dead: they could not blossom where the feet
Walked amid rottenness, or where the brawling shouters stamped the street.”

George William Russell (1867–1935) Irish writer, editor, critic, poet, and artistic painter

By Still Waters (1906)

Robert Benchley photo

“I do most of my work sitting down; that's where I shine.”

Robert Benchley (1889–1945) American comedian

Quoted in The Algonquin Wits, (1968) by R E Drennan, p. 5

George William Russell photo

“Each dream remembered is a burning-glass,
Where through to darkness from the Light of Lights
Its rays in splendour pass.”

George William Russell (1867–1935) Irish writer, editor, critic, poet, and artistic painter

"Day"
By Still Waters (1906)

Stephen Vincent Benét photo

“Oh dear and laughing, lost to me,
Hidden in grey Eternity,
I shall attain, with burning feet,
To you and to the mercy-seat!
The ages crumble down like dust,
Dark roses, deviously thrust
And scattered in sweet wine — but I,
I shall lift up to you my cry,
And kiss your wet lips presently
Beneath the ever-living Tree.”

Stephen Vincent Benét (1898–1943) poet, short story writer, novelist

Source: Young Adventure (1918), The Quality of Courage

Barbara Kingsolver photo

“Misunderstanding is my cornerstone. It's everyone's, come to think of it. Illusions mistaken for truth are the pavement under our feet.”

Barbara Kingsolver The Poisonwood Bible

Source: The Poisonwood Bible

Jerry Garcia photo

“The sun will shine in my back door one day..”

Jerry Garcia (1942–1995) American musician and member of the Grateful Dead

Maurice Thompson photo

“When Spring is old, and dewy winds
Blow from the south, with odors sweet,
I see my love, in shadowy groves,
Speed down dark aisles on shining feet.”

Maurice Thompson (1844–1901) American novelist

Atalanta’s Race.

“You're still shimmering and leading me on… Firefly that's what you are
Burning for me in my darkest hour
"Light breaks where no sun shines"
So shine for me tonight — firefly.”

Greta Gaines

&quot;Firefly&quot; on Greta Gaines (1999) http://www.allmusic.com/album/greta-gaines-mw0000068041; the phrase in quotes is a line from a poem of Dylan Thomas. · Full song at YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIEA4mjwRik&amp;spfreload=10 · Live Performance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbr63vyH-58 <br class="br">Context: I am waking from a dream,<br>I am choking on a scream,<br>You were trying to show me something.<br>But the dark is wide and long,<br>The gates are closed, the crowd&#x27;s all gone,<br>You&#x27;re still shimmering and leading me on… Firefly that&#x27;s what you are<br>Burning for me in my darkest hour<br>&quot;Light breaks where no sun shines&quot;<br>So shine for me tonight — firefly.

Related topics