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A poem should be wordless As the flight of birds. — Archibald MacLeish

Poem

A poem should be wordless As the flight of birds.

Archibald MacLeish
1926
★ 3.5
Other tags relating to this quote
Topic
BirdsPoetry
Medium
Poem
Time
1926
Person
Archibald MacLeish
Provenance
Current citation
MacLeish, Archibald. "Ars Poetica." From Collected Poems 1917 to 1982. Mariner Books, 1985.
Original citation
MacLeish, Archibald. "Ars Poetica." Poetry: A Magazine of Verse, June 1926.

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There is a legend about a bird which sings just once in its life, more sweetly than any other creature on the face of the earth. From the moment it leaves the nest it searches for a thorn tree, and does not rest until it has found one. Then, singing among the savage branches, it impales itself upon the longest, sharpest spine. And, dying, it rises above its own agony to out-carol the lark and the nightingale. One superlative song, existence the price. But the whole world stills to listen, and God in His heaven smiles. For the best is only bought at the cost of great pain.

Colleen McCullough
The Thorn Birds · 1977
Another quote aboutTopic·Birds

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