Sara Teasdale Quotes

And for a breath of ecstasy / Give all you have been, or could be.

The greenish sky glows up in misty reds, The purple shadows turn to brick and stone,The dreams wear thin, men turn upon their beds, And hear the milk-cart jangle by alone.

O lovely chance, what can I doTo give my gratefulness to you?You rise between myself and meWith a wise persistency;I would have broken body and soul,But by your grace, still I am whole.

But oh, to him I loved Who loved me not at all,I owe the little open gate That led thru heaven's wall.

If I am peaceful, I shall see Beauty's face continually; Feeding on her wine and bread I shall be wholly comforted, For she can make one day for me Rich as my lost eternity.

But you I never understood, Your spirit's secret hides like goldSunk in a Spanish galleon Ages ago in waters cold.

I saw above a sea of hills A solitary planet shine, And there was no one, near or far, to keep the world from being mine.

Years go, dreams go, and youth goes too, The world's heart breaks beneath its wars,All things are changed, save in the east,The faithful beauty of the stars.

I saw a star slide down the sky Blinding the north as it went by Too buring and too quick to hold Too lovely to be bought or sold Good only to make wishes on And then forever to be gone

Down the hill I went, and then, I forgot the ways of men, For night-scents, heady and damp and cool Wakened ecstasy

Old love, old love, / How can I be true? / Shall I be faithless to myself / Or to you?

If I can find out God, then I shall find Him,If none can find Him, then I shall sleep soundly,Knowing how well on earth your love sufficed me, A lamp in darkness.

Now at last I have come to see what life is, Nothing is ever ended, everything only begun, And the brave victories that seem so splendid Are never really won.

The poet should try to give his poem the quiet swiftness of flame, so that the reader will feel and not think while he is reading. But the thinking will come afterwards.

Love said, "Wake still and think of me," Sleep, "Close your eyes till break of day," But Dreams came by and smilingly Gave both to Love and Sleep their way.

Take love when love is given, But never think to find it A sure escape from sorrow Or a complete repose.

Places I love come back to me like music, / Hush me and heal me when I am very tired.

I shall not let a sorrow die Until I find the heart of it, Nor let a wordless joy go by Until it talks to me a bit.

Into my heart's treasury I slipped a coin That Time cannot take Nor a thief purloin- O better than the minting Of a gold-crowned king Is the safe-kept memory Of a lovely thing.

Can I ever know you / Or you know me?

I almost gave my life long ago for a thingThat has gone to dust now, stinging my eyes—It is strange how often a heart must be brokenBefore the years can make it wise.

Never fear the thing you feel-- Only by love is life made real

Beauty more than bitterness Makes the heart break.

I make the most of all that comes And the least of all that goes.

I have no riches but my thoughts. Yet these are wealth enough for me.

Though I know he loves me tonight my heart is sad his kiss was not so wonderful as all the dreams I had.

Joy was a flame in me Too steady to destroy. Lithe as a bending reed Loving the storm that sways her - I found more joy in sorrow Than you could find in joy.

Life is but thought.

What do I care, in the dreams and the languor of spring, That my songs do not show me at all?For they are a fragrance, and I am a flint and a fire, I am an answer, they are only a call

Let me remember you, soon will the winter be on us, Snow-hushed and heartless.

I have no riches but my thoughts, Yet these are wealth enough for me

You will recognize your own path when you come upon it because you will suddenly have all the energy and imagination you will ever need.

Down the hill I went, and then, I forgot the ways of men, For night-scents, heady and damp and coolWakened ecstasy

In my heart's most secret place, I pity them as angels do.