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Of what she said to me that night-no matter. The strange thing came next day. My brain was full of music-something she played me-; I couldn't remember it all, but phrases of it Wreathed and wreathed among faint memories, Seeking for something, trying to tell me something, Urging to restlessness: verging on grief. I tried to play the tune, from memory,- But memory failed: the chords and discords climbed And found no resolution-only hung there, And left me morbid . . . Where, then, had I heard it? . . .

Conrad Aiken#58

MemoryLossMusicSadnessEmotions

About this quote

What does it mean?
A musical memory lingers after a conversation, creating restlessness and grief when it cannot be fully recalled or resolved.
In plain terms
Unfinished music in your head can make you feel sad and unsettled.
What can you take from it?
Incomplete memories often leave us feeling unresolved.

Where it applies

  • after a significant conversation
  • when trying to recall art
  • feeling unsettled by the past

Putting it to work

  • journaling about lingering thoughts
  • revisiting old art
  • accepting incomplete memories

Questions to consider

  • What unfinished thing lingers in your mind?
  • How does music affect your mood?

Another view

Not all restlessness stems from specific memories.

More from Conrad Aiken

  1. Let us retrace our steps: I have deceived you: Nothing is here I could not frankly tell you: No hint of guilt, or faithlessness, or threat. Dreams-they are mad…

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  2. You know, without my telling you, how sometimes A word or name eludes you, and you seek it Through running ghosts of shadow,-leaping at it, Lying in wait for i…

    Permalink to quote #59
  3. Through soundless labyrinths of dream you pass, Through many doors to the one door of all. Soon as it's opened we shall hear a music: Or see a skeleton fall . …

    Permalink to quote #56

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