“Animals, these beings trapped
As I am trapped but not, themselves, the trap,
Aging, but without knowledge of their age,
Kept safe here, knowing not of death, for death
— Oh, bars of my own body, open, open!The world goes by my cage and never sees me.”

—  Randall Jarrell

"The Woman at the Washington Zoo," lines 14-19
The Woman at the Washington Zoo (1960)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Animals, these beings trapped As I am trapped but not, themselves, the trap, Aging, but without knowledge of their ag…" by Randall Jarrell?
Randall Jarrell photo
Randall Jarrell 215
poet, critic, novelist, essayist 1914–1965

Related quotes

“Trapped in life, only escape I know is death.”

E.M.S (1995) Nigerian rapper, singer and record producer

"Hidden"

Robert Crumb photo

“Me, me, me…myself & I…oh no!!! Trapped in my stupid self!”

Robert Crumb (1943) American cartoonist

From his sketchbook (28 March 1998), reproduced in The R. Crumb Handbook by Robert Crumb and Peter Poplaski (2005), p. 372
Context: What the hell is this?? Who can tell me?? Does anybody know?? How can I find out more about it?? One thing's sure: the human mind can't "know" it... why does one want to "know"?? Is it a quest for "freedom"? One no longer wishes to be a puppet dancing on the strings of... of what? Animal instincts?? Learned reflexes? Programmed behavior?? Ingrained habits of perception?? How limited are we by the experience of our senses, by our physical nature?? To be fully alive is a stupendous struggle! We want the rewards without the struggle--- ---a fatal error!... No such thing as an easy life! Everybody has a hard time... struggle or die! To find out what's really going on it's necessary to get around the ego.. an art requiring persistent and determined effort... Me, me, me... myself & I... oh no!!! Trapped in my stupid self!

Charles Stross photo

“I’m not one hundred percent clear on the clinical definition of death, but I’m pretty sure that lying trapped in my own unbreathing body meets some of the requirements.”

Charles Stross The Laundry Files

Source: The Laundry Files, The Fuller Memorandum (2010), Chapter 16, “Eater of Souls” (p. 294)

Eddie Izzard photo

“I am a lesbian trapped in a man's body.”

Eddie Izzard (1962) British stand-up comedian, actor and writer

Unrepeatable (1994)

Donna Tartt photo

“There was a horrible, erratic thumping in my chest, as if a large bird was trapped inside my ribcage and beating itself to death.”

Donna Tartt book The Secret History

Source: The Secret History

Jami photo

“I was trapped in love
And this trap is enough for me.”

Jami book Haft Awrang

Haft Awrang, p. 101
Poetry, Poetry from Haft Awrang

Russell T. Davies photo

“There's nothing better than a party that turns into a death trap.”

Russell T. Davies (1963) Screenwriter, former executive producer of Doctor Who

Doctor Who Confidential Series 2, Episode 5, "Cybermen" http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/confidential/index5.shtml (Doctor Who documentary series, 2005)

“My shoe has caught a Pig
I am a Pig Trap”

Spike Hawkins (1943) British writer

Pig poetry http://www.porkopolis.org/lib/poetry/hawkins-s.htm

Robert T. Kiyosaki photo

“Most people never see the trap they are in.”

Robert T. Kiyosaki (1947) American finance author , investor

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money-That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not!

Graham Greene photo

“It was as though our love were a small creature caught in a trap and bleeding to death: I had to shut my eyes and wring its neck.”

Graham Greene book The End of the Affair

Source: The End of the Affair

Related topics