---
title: "2 Ominous Quotes By John Ashbery"
description: "2 Ominous quotes by John Ashbery. Plus more from John Ashbery and more Ominous sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/john-ashbery-3600_arise_just-keep-playing-mastering-as-you-do-th_2358883.jpg"
---

> [Just keep playing, mastering as you do the step Into disorder this one meant. Don't you see It's all we can do? Meanwhile, great fires Arise, as of haystacks aflame. The dial has been set And that's ominous, but all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/just-keep-playing-mastering-as-you-do-the-step-into-disorder-this-one/)

[John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/john-ashbery-3600_arise_just-keep-playing-mastering-as-you-do-th_2358883.jpg)

> [You stupefied me. We waxed, Carnivores, late and alight In the beaded winter. All was ominous, luminous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/you-stupefied-me-we-waxed-carnivores-late-and-alight-in-the-beaded/)

[John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f6/john-ashbery-3600_carnivores_you-stupefied-me-we-waxed-carnivores-lat_2712084.png)

## More by John Ashbery

> [“It was always November there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/it-was-always-november-there/)

[John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/)

> [“Yes, they are alive and can have those colors, But I, in my soul, am alive too. I feel I must sing and dance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/yes-they-are-alive-and-can-have-those-colors-but-i-in-my-soul-am/)

[John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/)

> [How many people came and stayed a certain time, Uttered light or dark speech that became part of you Like light behind windblown fog…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/how-many-people-came-and-stayed-a-certain-time-uttered-light-or-dark/)

[John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/)

> [Some certified nut Will try to tell you it's poetry, (It's extraordinary, it makes a great deal of sense) But watch out or he'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/some-certified-nut-will-try-to-tell-you-it-s-poetry-it-s/)

[John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/)

> [The ellipse is as aimless as that, Stretching invisibly into the future so as to reappear In our present. Its flexing is its account,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-ellipse-is-as-aimless-as-that-stretching-invisibly-into-the/)

[John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/)

> [Somewhere someone is traveling furiously toward you, At incredible speed, traveling day and night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/somewhere-someone-is-traveling-furiously-toward-you-at-incredible/)

[John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/)

> [The facts of history have been too well rehearsed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-facts-of-history-have-been-too-well-rehearsed/)

[John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/)

> [“The genius of Cornell is that he sees and enables us to see with the eyes of childhood, before our vision got clouded by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-genius-of-cornell-is-that-he-sees-and-enables-us-to-see-with-the/)

[John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/)

> [The mind Is so hospitable, taking in everything Like boarders, and you don't see until It's all over how little there was to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-mind-is-so-hospitable-taking-in-everything-like-boarders-and-you/)

[John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/)

> [In the increasingly convincing darkness The words become palpable, like a fruit That is too beautiful to eat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/in-the-increasingly-convincing-darkness-the-words-become-palpable/)

[John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/)

> [What I like about music is its ability to be convincing, to carry an argument through successfully to the finish, though the terms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/what-i-like-about-music-is-its-ability-to-be-convincing-to-carry-an/)

[John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/)

> [“The Unknown Travelers Lugged to the gray arbor, I have climbed this snow-stone on my face, My stick, but what, snapped the avalanche The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-unknown-travelers-lugged-to-the-gray-arbor-i-have-climbed-this/)

[John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/)

> [I don't look on poetry as closed works. I feel they're going on all the time in my head and I occasionally snip off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/i-don-t-look-on-poetry-as-closed-works-i-feel-they-re-going-on-all/)

[John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/somewhere-someone-is-traveling-furiously-toward-you-at-incredible-2/)

[John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/)

> [The promise of learning is a delusion… Tomorrow would alter the sense of what had already been learned, that the learning process is extended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-promise-of-learning-is-a-delusion-tomorrow-would-alter-the-sense/)

[John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/)

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