One must have a mind of winter To regard the frost and the boughs Of the pine-trees crusted with snow; And have been cold a long time To behold the junipers shagged with ice, The spruces rough in the distant glitter Of the January sun; and not to think Of any misery in the sound of the wind, In the sound of a few leaves, Which is the sound of the land Full of the same wind That is blowing in the same bare place For the listener, who listens in the snow, And, nothing himself, beholds Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- A winter mind sees the cold landscape without thinking of misery, embracing the emptiness.
- In plain terms
- Accept the starkness of winter without adding sorrow.
- What can you take from it?
- Learn to observe harsh reality without emotional distortion.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When is detachment helpful vs. harmful?
- How does nature influence inner states?
Another view
Detachment can become numbness if over‑applied.
More from Wallace Stevens
The boots of the men clump On the boards of the bridge. The first white wall of the village Rises through fruit-trees. Of what was it I was thinking? So the me…
Permalink to quote #42 Let the wenches dawdle in such dress As they are used to wear, and let the boys Bring flowers in last month's newspapers. Let be be finale of seem. The only em…
Permalink to quote #44 Twenty men crossing a bridge, Into a village, Are Twenty men crossing a bridge Into a village.
Permalink to quote #41
Related quotes
Power of mind is infinite while brawn is limited.
Koichi ToheiKoichi Tohei quote #1 According to the technical language of old writers, a thing and its qualities are described as subject and attributes; and thus a man's faculties and acts are …
William WhewellWilliam Whewell quote #4 Unless man have a natural bent in accordance with nature's, he has no chance of understanding nature at all.
Charles Sanders PeirceCharles Sanders Peirce quote #5