Quote#Wisdom
The pavement slabs burn loose beneath my feet
Quote byClaude McKay · 1889–1948
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: The White House, l. 5-8.
English (original)
The pavement slabs burn loose beneath my feet, A chafing savage, down the decent street; And passion rends my vitals as I pass, Where boldly shines your shuttered door of glass.
— Claude McKay
More from Claude McKay
If we must die, O let us nobly die, So that our precious blood may not be shed In vain; then even the monsters we defy Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!
The wine-flushed, bold-eyed boys, and even the girls, Devoured her with their eager, passionate gaze; But looking at her falsely-smiling face, I knew her self was not in that strange place.
The shivering birds beneath the eaves Have sheltered for the night.
Oh, I must keep my heart inviolate Against the potent poison of your hate.
Although she feeds me bread of bitterness, And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth, Stealing my breath of life, I will confess I love this cultured hell that tests my youth!
Deep in the secret chambers of my heart I muse my life-long hate, and without flinch I bear it nobly as I live my part.