I have been all men known to history, R. S. Thomas More Quotes by R. S. Thomas More Quotes From R. S. Thomas Poetry is that / which arrives at the intellect / by way of the heart. R. S. Thomas intellect heart way The silence holds with its gloved hand the wild hawk of the mind. R. S. Thomas silence mind hands The meaning is in the waiting. R. S. Thomas waiting To live in Wales is to be conscious at dusk of the spilled blood that went into the making of the wild sky R. S. Thomas conscious sky blood Ah, what balance is needed at R. S. Thomas balance space hands The old men ask for more time; the young waste it. And the philosopher simply smiles, knowing there is none there. R. S. Thomas waste knowing men I have seen the sun break through R. S. Thomas break-through giving past You have to imagine R. S. Thomas impatient imagine waiting A recurring ideal, I find, is that of simplicity. At times there comes the desire to write with great precision and clarity, words so simple and moving that they bring tears to the eyes. R. S. Thomas eye writing moving I have known exile and a wild passion Of longing changing to a cold ache. King, beggar and fool , I have been all by turns, Knowing the body's sweetness, the mind 's treason ; Taliesin still, I show you a new world , risen, Stubborn with beauty , out of the heart 's need . R. S. Thomas passion kings heart I am left alone on the surface R. S. Thomas surface planets Sunlight 's a thing that needs a window Before it enter a dark room. Windows don't happen." So two old poets, Hunched at their beer in the low haze Of an inn parlour, while the talk ran Noisily by them, glib with prose. R. S. Thomas dark beer two Imaginative truth is the most immediate way of presenting ultimate reality to a human being... ultimate reality is what we call God. R. S. Thomas truth-is reality way somewhere within sight of the tree of poetry that is eternity wearing the green leaves of time . R. S. Thomas green sight tree Verse should be as natural As the small tuber that feeds on muck And grows slowly from obtuse soil To the white flower of immortal beauty R. S. Thomas soil flower white I had looked forward R. S. Thomas distance journey memories The nearest we approach God ...is as creative beings. The poet, by echoing the primary imagination, recreates. Through his work he forces those who read him to do the same, thus bringing them... nearer to the actual being of God as displayed in action. R. S. Thomas creative imagination action The furies are at home in the mirror; it is their address. Even the clearest water, if deep enough can drown. Never think to surprise them. Your face approaching ever so friendly is the white flag they ignore. There is no truce with the furies. A mirror's temperature is always zero. It is ice in the veins. It's camera is an x-ray. It is a chalice held out to you in silent communion, where gaspingly you partake of a shifting identity never your own. R. S. Thomas zero fear home I turn now R. S. Thomas turns Even God had a Welsh name : He spoke to him in the old language; He was to have a peculiar care For the Welsh people. History showed us He was too big to be nailed to the wall Of a stone chapel, yet still we crammed him Between the boards of a black book . R. S. Thomas wall names book
