This Great Unknowing Quotes

“This great unknowing
is part of their holiness.”
― Denise Levertov, This Great Unknowing

“When I opened the door
I found the vine leaves
speaking among themselves in abundant
whispers.
My presence made them
hush their green breath,
embarrassed, the way
humans stand up, buttoning their jackets,
acting as if they were leaving anyway, as if
the conversation had ended
just before you arrived.
I liked
the glimpse I had, though,
of their obscure
gestures. I liked the sound
of such private voices. Next time
I’ll move like cautious sunlight, open
the door by fractions, eavesdrop
peacefully.”
― Denise Levertov, This Great Unknowing

“As Andersen told it, the tale was not for young children, not even called ‘The Little’-just, ‘The Mermaid.’ It’s about love and grief, a myth of longing and sacrifice, far closer, say, to Goethe’s Parable than to any jovial folktale, much less to today’s manufactured juvenile distractions.”
― Denise Levertov, This Great Unknowing

“Words taken
by lips, tongue, teeth, throat,
down into body’s
caverns, to enter
blood, bone, breath,”
― Denise Levertov, This Great Unknowing