“At first I couldn't see anything. I fumbled along the cobblestone street. I lit a cigarette. Suddenly the moon appeared from behind a black cloud, lighting a white wall that was crumbled in places. I stopped, blinded by such whiteness. Wind whistled slightly. I breathed the air of the tamarinds. The night hummed, full of leaves and insects. Crickets bivouacked in the tall grass. I raised my head: up there the stars too had set up camp. I thought that the universe was a vast system of signs, a conversation between giant beings. My actions, the cricket's saw, the star's blink, were nothing but pauses and syllables, scattered phrases from that dialogue. What word could it be, of which I was only a syllable? Who speaks the word? To whom is it spoken? I threw my cigarette down on the sidewalk. Falling, it drew a shining curve, shooting out brief sparks like a tiny comet.I walked a long time, slowly. I felt free, secure between the lips that were at that moment speaking me with such happiness. The night was a garden of eyes.”
Octavio Paz“Mineral cactai,quicksilver lizards in the adobe walls,the bird that punctures space,thirst, tedium, clouds of dust, impalpable epiphanies of wind.The pines taught me to talk to myself.In that garden I learnedto send myself off.Later there were no gardens. ”
Octavio Paz, A Draft of Shadows and Other Poems“To reduce poetry to its reflections of historical events and movements would be like reducing the poet's words to their logical or grammatical connotations.”
Octavio Paz, The Labyrinth of Solitude and Other Writings“Writers, you know, are the beggars of Western society.”
Octavio Paz“No one is alone, and each change here brings about another change there.”
Octavio Paz“Solitude is the profoundest fact of the human condition. Man is the only being who knows he is alone.”
Octavio Paz“Self-discovery is above all the realization that we are alone: it is the opening of an impalpable, transparent wall - that of our consciousness - between the world and ourselves.”
Octavio Paz“Any reflection about poetry should begin, or end, with this question: who and how many read poetry books?”
Octavio Paz“Poetry is the experience of liberty. The poet risks himself, chances all on the poem's all with each verse he writes.”
Octavio Paz“Surrealism is not a poetry but a poetics, and even more, and more decisively, a world vision.”
Octavio Paz“Poetry is not a genre in harmony with the modern world; its innermost nature is hostile or indifferent to the dogmas of modern times, progress and the cult of the future.”
Octavio Paz