--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you wear black, then kindly…" description: "\"“If you wear black, then kindly, irritating strangers will touch your arm consolingly and inform you that the world keeps on turning. They're right. It..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/alan-moore-583_death_if-you-wear-black-then-kindly-irritating_647893.jpg" --- # If you wear black, then kindly, irritating strangers will… ![“If you wear black, then kindly, irritating strangers will touch your arm consolingly and inform you that the world keeps on turning. They're right. It does. However much you beg it to stop. It turns and lets grenadine spill over the horizon, sends hard bars of gold through my window and I wake up…” quote by Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/alan-moore-583_death_if-you-wear-black-then-kindly-irritating_647893.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/alan-moore-583_death_if-you-wear-black-then-kindly-irritating_647893.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/alan-moore-583_death_if-you-wear-black-then-kindly-irritating_647893.jpg) > ““If you wear black, then kindly, irritating strangers will touch your arm consolingly and inform you that the world keeps on turning. They're right. It does. However much you beg it to stop. It turns and lets grenadine spill over the horizon, sends hard bars of gold through my window and I wake up and feel happy for three seconds and then I remember. It turns and tips people out of their beds and into their cars, their offices, an avalanche of tiny men and women tumbling through life... All trying not to think about what's waiting at the bottom. Sometimes it turns and sends us reeling into each other's arms. We cling tight, excited and laughing, strangers thrown together on a moving funhouse floor. Intoxicated by the motion we forget all the risks. And then the world turns... And somebody falls off... And oh God it's such a long way down. Numb with shock, we can only stand and watch as they fall away from us, gradually getting smaller... Receding in our memories until they're no longer visible. We gather in cemeteries, tense and silent as if for listening for the impact; the splash of a pebble dropped into a dark well, trying to measure its depth. Trying to measure how far we have to fall. No impact comes; no splash. The moment passes. The world turns and we turn away, getting on with our lives... Wrapping ourselves in comforting banalities to keep us warm against the cold. "Time's a great healer." "At least it was quick." "The world keeps turning." Oh Alec— Alec's dead.”” [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s endless cycles bring joy, loss, and existential reflection, urging us to find meaning amid constant change. **In simple terms:** Life keeps turning, bringing highs and lows. Key Takeaway Embrace change and seek purpose. Themes existence change humanity Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - grief counseling - creative writing - philosophical discussion Key Concepts impermanence meaning resilience Questions to Reflect On - What does “the world turns” mean to you? - How do you find stability in perpetual motion? A Different Perspective The metaphor may over‑romanticize suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comforting Banalities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comforting-banalities-5187227/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Long way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-way/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Moment Passes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment-passes-262788/) [Mourning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mourning/) [Oh god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oh-god/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Remember Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-turns-2323885/) [World Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-turns/) ## Related quotes > [“When you're on the top of the world you should remember it turns over every twenty-four hours”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamie-fraser/when-you-re-on-the-top-of-the-world-you-should-remember-it-turns-over/) [Tamie Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamie-fraser/) > [If you are sitting on top of the world, remember it turns over every 24 hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/if-you-are-sitting-on-top-of-the-world-remember-it-turns-over-every/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Take the adventure, heed the call, now ere the irrevocable moment passes! 'Tis but a banging of the door behind you, a blithesome step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-grahame/take-the-adventure-heed-the-call-now-ere-the-irrevocable-moment/) [Kenneth Grahame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-grahame/) > [Have you ever had one of those moments when time just freezes? You know, when the world suddenly goes deathly still, and you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/have-you-ever-had-one-of-those-moments-when-time-just-freezes-you/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [We notice a bee struggling inside a flower, or the smile of a woman as she passes us on the street, and for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-tinti/we-notice-a-bee-struggling-inside-a-flower-or-the-smile-of-a-woman-as/) [Hannah Tinti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-tinti/) > [Isn't there a curious elegance in how one moment passes into another?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/isn-t-there-a-curious-elegance-in-how-one-moment-passes-into-another/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [We breathe the light, we breathe the music, we breathe the moment as it passes through us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/we-breathe-the-light-we-breathe-the-music-we-breathe-the-moment-as-it/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [The moment passes. There is no point in regretting irreversible decisions—one has to live with them, and we try.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ekaterina-sedia/the-moment-passes-there-is-no-point-in-regretting-irreversible/) [Ekaterina Sedia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ekaterina-sedia/) > [“But the trouble with living in the moment is that the moment passes. Impulse and spontaneity take no account of the longer term, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/but-the-trouble-with-living-in-the-moment-is-that-the-moment-passes/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Each moment that passes changes you...You can't even own yourself. How can you ever hope to own anyone or anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/each-moment-that-passes-changes-you-you-can-t-even-own-yourself-how/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [“Mine still, this moment passes by, escapes me, and is buried forever. Am I going to commit myself with the next? I make up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/mine-still-this-moment-passes-by-escapes-me-and-is-buried-forever-am/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [Everything beautiful has its moment and then passes away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-cernuda/everything-beautiful-has-its-moment-and-then-passes-away/) [Luis Cernuda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-cernuda/) > [Every day passes when you are not in my life. But not a moment passes when you are not in my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-day-passes-when-you-are-not-in-my-life-but-not-a-moment-passes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There is not a moment that passes where you don’t make me feel more alive than I ever thought I could, and today you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-young/there-is-not-a-moment-that-passes-where-you-don-t-make-me-feel-more/) [Samantha Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-young/) > [I take each thing as it comes and appreciate everything that's in front of me now because people in this industry are so fixated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-atack/i-take-each-thing-as-it-comes-and-appreciate-everything-that-s-in/) [Emily Atack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-atack/) ## More by Alan Moore > [I think that storytelling and creation are very close to what the center of what magic is about. I think not just for me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/i-think-that-storytelling-and-creation-are-very-close-to-what-the/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [To some degree Satanism is purely a kind of disease of Christianity. You've got to really be Christian to believe in Satan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/to-some-degree-satanism-is-purely-a-kind-of-disease-of-christianity/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [There has been a rather unpleasant sensibility apparent in Frank Miller's work for quite a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/there-has-been-a-rather-unpleasant-sensibility-apparent-in-frank/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [I felt, if I'm going to react I might as well over react.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/i-felt-if-i-m-going-to-react-i-might-as-well-over-react/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [“Come, dry your eyes, for you are LIFE, rarer than a quark and unpredictable beyond the dreams of Heisenberg; the clay in which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/come-dry-your-eyes-for-you-are-life-rarer-than-a-quark-and/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Now everything is wonderful and hazardous and nothing's hypothetical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/now-everything-is-wonderful-and-hazardous-and-nothing-s-hypothetical/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [In many ways, my entire graphic novel career was a long diversion. Originally, all I wanted to do was to be an underground cartoonist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/in-many-ways-my-entire-graphic-novel-career-was-a-long-diversion/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [I was kind of a selfish child, who always wanted things his way, and I've kind of taken that over into my relationship with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/i-was-kind-of-a-selfish-child-who-always-wanted-things-his-way-and-i/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Magic is a state of mind. It is often portrayed as very black and gothic, and that is because certain practitioners played that up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/magic-is-a-state-of-mind-it-is-often-portrayed-as-very-black-and/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [“Above, great constellations wheeled to which our bonfire sparks ascended in their tiny mimicry”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/above-great-constellations-wheeled-to-which-our-bonfire-sparks/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [“You're my only remaining link to the world”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/you-re-my-only-remaining-link-to-the-world/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/nothing-ends-adrian-nothing-ever-ends/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [On the one occasion where I did try writing a screenplay, I found the rewriting just unendurable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/on-the-one-occasion-where-i-did-try-writing-a-screenplay-i-found-the/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [“The clothes you're wearing, the room, the house, the city that you're in. Everything in it started out in the human imagination. Your lives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/the-clothes-you-re-wearing-the-room-the-house-the-city-that-you-re-in/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) [Explore all 460 Alan Moore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-powers/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If you wear black, then kindly, irritating strangers will touch your arm consolingly and inform you that the world keeps on turning. They're right. It does. However much you beg it to stop. It turns and lets grenadine spill over the horizon, sends hard bars of gold through my window and I wake up and feel happy for three seconds and then I remember. It turns and tips people out of their beds and into their cars, their offices, an avalanche of tiny men and women tumbling through life... All trying not to think about what's waiting at the bottom. Sometimes it turns and sends us reeling into each other's arms. We cling tight, excited and laughing, strangers thrown together on a moving funhouse floor. Intoxicated by the motion we forget all the risks. And then the world turns... And somebody falls off... And oh God it's such a long way down. Numb with shock, we can only stand and watch as they fall away from us, gradually getting smaller... Receding in our memories until they're no longer visible. We gather in cemeteries, tense and silent as if for listening for the impact; the splash of a pebble dropped into a dark well, trying to measure its depth. Trying to measure how far we have to fall. No impact comes; no splash. The moment passes. The world turns and we turn away, getting on with our lives... 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