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"I am the shadow of the waxwing slain By the false azure in the windowpane I am the smudge of ashen fluff And I lived on, flew on, in the reflected sky" I a
by Boogie_Man 2y ago
"I am the shadow of the waxwing slain
By the false azure in the windowpane
I am the smudge of ashen fluff
And I lived on, flew on, in the reflected sky"
I am ashamed that I will never command my native language as well as a man for whom it was a second. I don't even know if whom is right there.
- OldGuyInTheClub 2y agoI think it was his third after Russian and French. I liked "The svelte stilettos of a frozen stillicide" and "How to locate in blackness, with a gasp, Terra the Fair, an orbicle of jasp."
- edflsafoiewq 2y agoNabokov's family was trilingual and he could read and write English before he could Russian. It wasn't really a second language to him.
- leephillips 2y agoYou destroyed this by altering the linebreaking. And it’s misquoted in other ways.
- Boogie_Man 2y agoYou're not wrong, but it was from memory. I invite you to look it up and post the correct version.
- Boogie_Man 2y agoHere's what appears to be the exact quote from an article: I was the shadow of the waxwing slain By the false azure in the windowpane; I was the smudge of ashen fluff—and I Lived on, flew on, in the reflected sky. I think I did alright for recalling it from several years ago. I will in fact, retract my agreement and classify your criticism as overly harsh.