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Life is not at all what you might think it to be_x000D_ _x000D_ A simple tale where each thing has its history_x000D_ _x000D_ It's much more than its scuffle and anything goes_x000D_ _x000D_ Both evil and good, subject to the same laws.
John Ashbery
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Life is complex and unpredictable, encompassing both good and evil experiences.

This quote highlights the intricate nature of life, suggesting that it is not simply what we perceive it to be. It emphasizes that life consists of various experiences, each with its own history, and that good and evil coexist under the same fundamental principles. The essence of life includes a multitude of narratives and complexities beyond mere appearances or conflicts.

Themes

LifeComplexityExperiencesGoodEvil

In practice

Example use cases

During a speech on the unpredictability of life, one might say this quote to illustrate the depth of human experience.

More from John Ashbery

The evening light was like honey in the trees When you left me and walked to the end of the street Where the sunset abruptly ended. The wedding-cake drawbridge lowered itself To the fragile forget-me-not flower. You climbed aboard. Burnt horizons suddenly paved with golden stones, Dreams I had, including suicide, Puff out the hot-air balloon now. It is bursting, it is about to burst
John AshberyRead
But always and sometimes questioning the old modes_x000D_ _x000D_ And the new wondering, the poem, growing up through the floor,_x000D_ _x000D_ Standing tall in tubers, invading and smashing the ritual_x000D_ _x000D_ Parlor, demands to be met on its own terms now,_x000D_ _x000D_ Now that the preliminary negotiations are at last over.
John AshberyRead
Then let yourself love all that you take delight in_x000D_ _x000D_ Accept yourself whole, accept the heritage_x000D_ _x000D_ That shaped you and is passed on from age to age_x000D_ _x000D_ Down to your entity. Remain mysterious;_x000D_ _x000D_ Rather than be pure, accept yourself as numerous.
John AshberyRead
until only infinity remained of beauty
John AshberyRead
The poem is sad because it wants to be yours, and cannot be.
John AshberyRead
The sun fades like the spreading_x000D_ _x000D_ Of a peacock's tail, as though twilight_x000D_ _x000D_ Might be read as a warning to those desperate_x000D_ _x000D_ For easy solutions.
John AshberyRead

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