Breathturn Quotes

“From beholding the blackbirds, evenings,
through the unbarred, that
surrounds me,

I promised myself weapons.

From beholding the weapons— hands,
from beholding the hands— the long ago
by the sharp, flat
pebble written line

— Wave, you
carried it hither, honed it,
gave yourself, un-
losable, up,
shoresand, you take,
take in,
sea-oats, blow
yours along— ,

the line, the line,
through which we swim, entwined,
twice each millennium,
all that singing at the fingers,

that even the through us living,
magnificent-unexplainable
flood does not believe us.”
― Paul Celan, Breathturn

“The world is gone, I have to carry you.”
― Paul Celan, Breathturn

“BEFORE YOUR LATE FACE,
a loner
wandering between
nights that change me too,
something came to stand,
which was with us once already, un-
touched by thoughts.”
― Paul Celan, Breathturn

“Go blind today already:
eternity is too full of eyes–”
― Paul Celan, Breathturn

“I burn this image, between
the horns, therein,
in the singing of the coils, the
marrow of the curdled
heartseas swells.”
― Paul Celan, Breathturn