And the stone word fell <br />On my still-living breast. <br />Never mind, I was ready. <br />I will manage somehow. <br /> <br />Today I have so much to do: <br />I must kill memory once and for all, <br />I must turn my soul to stone, <br />I must learn to live again— <br /> <br />Unless . . . Summer's ardent rustling <br />Is like a festival outside my window. <br />For a long time I've foreseen this <br />Brilliant day, deserted house.<br /><br />Anna Akhmatova<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-sentence/
