Quotes from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“These men are worth your tears. You are not worth their merriment.”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“Oh yes, I know the way to heaven was easy. We found the little kingdom of our passion that all can share who walk the road of lovers. In wild and secret happiness we stumbled; and gods and demons clamoured in our senses.”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“Escape? There is one unwatched way: your eyes. O Beauty! Keep me good that secret gate.”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“Sleep mothered them; and left the twilight sad.”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“And in his eyes
The cold stars lighting, very old and bleak,
In different skies.”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“But the old man would not so, but slew his son,
And half the seed of Europe, one by one.”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory
That old lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“O what made fatuous sunbeams toil
To break earth's sleep at all?”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“I dreamed kind Jesus fouled the big-gun gears; and caused a permanent stoppage in all bolts; and buckled with a smile Mausers and Colts; and rusted every bayonet with His tears.”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“He's lost his colour very far from here,
Poured it down shell-holes till the veins ran dry”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“Consummation is consumption

We cannot consummate our bliss and not consume
All joys are cakes and vanish in eating
All bliss is sugar's melting in the mouth”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“For by my glee might many men have laughed,
And of my weeping may something have been left,
Which must die now.”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“Through the dense din, I say, we heard him shout
"I see your lights!" But ours had long died out.”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“Wading sloughs of flesh these helpless wander,
Treading blood from lungs that had loved laughter.”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“You shall not hear their mirth:
You shall not come to think them well content
By any jest of mine. These men are worth
Your tears:You are not worth their merriment.”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“Some say God caught them even before they fell.”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“I am the enemy you killed, my friend.”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“Voices of boys were by the river-side.
Sleep mothered them; and left the twilight sad.”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“The dust that fell unnoted as a dew,
Wrapped the dead city's face like mummy-cloth”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“But let my death be memoried on this disc.
Wear it, sweet friend. Inscribe no date nor deed.
But let thy heart-beat kiss it night and day,
Until the name grow vague and wear away.”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“There breasts were stuck all white with wreath and spray
As men's are, dead.”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

“Shall they return to beating of great bells
In wild train-loads?
A few, a few, too few for drums and yells,
May creep back, silent, to village wells,
Up half-known roads.”
― Wilfred Owen, quote from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen

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BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.