John Ashbery Quotes

61 Sourced Quotes

Just when I thought there wasn't room enough for another thought in my head, I had this great idea—

John Ashbery
All beauty, resonance, integrity,
Exist by deprivation or logic
Of strange position.

John Ashbery
The sun fades like the spreading
Of a peacock's tail, as though twilight
Might be read as a warning to those desperate
For easy solutions.

John Ashbery
Somewhere someone is traveling furiously toward you, At incredible speed, traveling day and night, Through blizzards and desert heat, across torrents, through narrow passes. But will he know where to find you, Recognize you when he sees you, Give you the thing he has for you?

John Ashbery
The soul establishes itself. But how far can it swim out through the eyes And still return safely to its nest?

John Ashbery
Much that is beautiful must be discarded So that we may resemble a taller Impression of ourselves.

John Ashbery
The first year was like icing. Then the cake started to show through …

John Ashbery
Did I say that? One says so many things, and the problem is they all get written down.

John Ashbery
This whole moment is the groin
Of a borborygmic giant who even now
Is rolling over on us in his sleep.

John Ashbery
Then let yourself love all that you take delight in
Accept yourself whole, accept the heritage
That shaped you and is passed on from age to age
Down to your entity. Remain mysterious;
Rather than be pure, accept yourself as numerous.

John Ashbery
Something like living occurs, a movement Out of the dream into its codification.

John Ashbery