Three miles from my adopted city lies a village where I came to peace. The world there was a calm place, even the great Danube no more than a pale ribbon tossed onto the landscapeby a girl’s careless hand. Into this stillness I had been ordered to recover. The hills were gold with late summer;my rooms were two, plus a small kitchen, situated upstairs in the back of a cottage at the end of the Herrengasse. From my window I could see onto the courtyard where a linden tree twined skyward – leafy umbilicus canted toward light, warped in the very act of yearning –and I would feed on the sun as if that alone would dismantle the silence around me. At first I raged. Then music raged in me, rising so swiftly I could not write quickly enough to ease the roiling. I would stop to light a lamp, and whatever I’d missed – larks flying to nest, church bells, the shepherd’s home-toward-evening song – rushed in, and Iwould rage again. I am by nature a conflagration; I would rather leap than sit and be looked at. So when my proud city spread her gypsy skirts, I reentered, burning towards her greater, constant light. Call me rough, ill-tempered, slovenly– I tell you, every tenderness I have ever known has been nothing but thwarted violence, an ache so permanent and deep, the lightest touch awakens it. It is impossible to care enough. I have returned with a second Symphony and 15 Piano Variationswhich I’ve named Prometheus, after the rogue Titan, the half-a-god who knew the worst sin is to take what cannot be given back. I smile and bow, and the world is loud. And though I dare not lean in to shout Can’t you see that I’m deaf? –I also cannot stop listening. . Rita Dove
About This Quote

The meaning of the quote, Three miles from my adopted city lies a village where I came to peace.The world there was a calm place,even the great Danube no more than a pale ribbon tossed onto the landscapeby a girl’s careless hand.Into this stillness I had been ordered to recover., is that when we seek peace and serenity we can find it in quiet and peace. Even when we do not feel peace and serenity, we can find it in quiet and peace. When we feel like we are alone in the world, we can find peace in connection to others. This is what he means by connecting with others in peaceful circumstances.

We all need to be able to connect with others every now and then, because without our connections with others, life would be very lonely indeed. We live along side of each other every day, but it is easy for us humans to forget this fact.

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