The Ishtar Gate Quotes

“I'll leave the masque of despair
to the heart: an old dance,
heartbreak, a suitable task.”
― Diana Brebner, The Ishtar Gate: Last and Selected Poems (The Hugh MacLennan Poetry Series)

“I, who have lived as a mind, cogito's captive,
must submit: this is a world of body and
spirit. In purity, or violence, the water
receives you, and you become it.”
― Diana Brebner, The Ishtar Gate: Last and Selected Poems (The Hugh MacLennan Poetry Series)

“A voice chants, like a dark chorus:

The solid state is transitory.
Embodiment never lasts past
the heat of passion.”
― Diana Brebner, The Ishtar Gate: Last and Selected Poems (The Hugh MacLennan Poetry Series)

“Even the worst night is a poet's dream.
Be with me. Delight in delight. Even
when falling, Karma's girls can dance.”
― Diana Brebner, The Ishtar Gate: Last and Selected Poems (The Hugh MacLennan Poetry Series)

“Retouch me. Repair me. But let it be known
that when you see me, I will be restored.”
― Diana Brebner, The Ishtar Gate: Last and Selected Poems (The Hugh MacLennan Poetry Series)

“All of those places within me, somewhat
lonely, and foreign, where I am homeless,
still remain to be seen.”
― Diana Brebner, The Ishtar Gate: Last and Selected Poems (The Hugh MacLennan Poetry Series)

“There are some women that you tell your
life-story to. The things you were never

going to say. The thing you would never
remember. And all along you are afraid

she will hurt you, hurt you with what
she knows.”
― Diana Brebner, The Ishtar Gate: Last and Selected Poems (The Hugh MacLennan Poetry Series)

“Silent, I will paint you, kiss
you: blue, immaculate, eternal, perfect
always new.”
― Diana Brebner, The Ishtar Gate: Last and Selected Poems (The Hugh MacLennan Poetry Series)