Charles Reznikoff

“Among the heaps of brick and plaster lies a girder, still itself among the rubbish.”

“The nail is lost. For want of the nail the shoe is lost; for want of the shoe the horse is lost; for want of the horse the rider is lost; for want of the rider the battle is lost; for want of the battle the kingdom is lost—and all for the want of a horseshoe nail.”

“Of all the things that I have known, only the city has been unending.”

“Te Deum. Not because of victories I sing, having none, but for the common sunshine, the usual wind, the proverbial streetcar.”

“I have learnt the Hebrew blessing before eating bread; is there a blessing before reading a book?”

“The moon shines in the empty lot; a black cat stalks a mouse among the weeds.”

“Let other men think of fighting for coaling stations; I will sing of the tramways of Brooklyn.”

“How shall we mourn you who are killed and wasted, Sure that you would not have wished us to rage against the world?”

“This smoky winter morning— do not despise the green jewel shining among the twigs.”

“The pigeons listening to the clock, the clock striking.”

“Walked on, but the mind was not listening. The mind was deaf.”

“The past is not a dead past, but a past that is still living, still with us, still active.”