Body Quote by Anne Sexton
“God went out of me as if the sea dried up like sandpaper, as if the sun became a latrine. God went out of my fingers. They became stone. My body became a side of mutton and despair roamed the slaughterhouse.”
About This Quote
Source Poetry: "The Book of the Dead" by Anne Sexton, 1972
A vivid metaphor of spiritual emptiness, describing a loss of divine presence that turns the body into desolation and despair.
In simple terms: Feeling empty and abandoned.
Key Takeaway
Seek connection and meaning.
Themes
spiritual emptiness
despair
identity loss
Mood
melancholic
introspective
Type
poetic
literary
When to use this quote
- grief counseling
- creative writing
- spiritual retreats
- mental health therapy
Key Concepts
existentialism
metaphor
nihilism
Questions to Reflect On
- What does "God" symbolize for you?
- How can you restore vitality?
A Different Perspective
The metaphor may over‑dramatize personal pain, limiting empathy.
![“I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests with ZERO-G [a charter-flight service in Arlington, Va., that uses modified Boeing 727s to simulate weightlessness], which went great.” quote by Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/aa1/richard-branson-256_adventure_i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-repl_903.jpg)
