--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have a black look I do not like. It is…" description: "\"I have a black look I do not like. It is a mask I try on. I migrate toward it and its frog sits on my lips and defecates.\" — Anne Sexton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/anne-sexton-645_anger_i-have-a-black-look-i-do-not-like-it-is_3094991.png" --- # I have a black look I do not like. It is a mask I try on… ![“I have a black look I do not like. It is a mask I try on. I migrate toward it and its frog sits on my lips and defecates.” quote by Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/anne-sexton-645_anger_i-have-a-black-look-i-do-not-like-it-is_3094991.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/anne-sexton-645_anger_i-have-a-black-look-i-do-not-like-it-is_3094991.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/anne-sexton-645_anger_i-have-a-black-look-i-do-not-like-it-is_3094991.png) > “I have a black look I do not like. It is a mask I try on. I migrate toward it and its frog sits on my lips and defecates.” [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poet describes an unwanted identity she adopts, feeling polluted and degraded by it. **In simple terms:** Wearing a harmful persona that contaminates self. Key Takeaway Reject the mask, reclaim authenticity. Themes identity self‑image pollution self‑destruction Mood melancholy introspective Type poetic psychological When to use this quote - social pressure - personal relationships - self‑esteem challenges Key Concepts psychology symbolism mask metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What does your “mask” protect? - How can you shed it safely? A Different Perspective The mask may provide temporary safety but erodes true self. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Lips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lips/) [Mask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mask/) ## Related quotes > [The trick is not to get too fanatical about getting the accent too accurate because then that becomes a mask. What I try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hopkins/the-trick-is-not-to-get-too-fanatical-about-getting-the-accent-too/) [Anthony Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hopkins/) > [When I do a mask, I do try to put a lot of character and a lot of expression into the sculpt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-baker/when-i-do-a-mask-i-do-try-to-put-a-lot-of-character-and-a-lot-of/) [Rick Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-baker/) > [Night gives a black look to everything, whatever it may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/night-gives-a-black-look-to-everything-whatever-it-may-be/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“We have a license to kill and we make black look good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ednah-walters/we-have-a-license-to-kill-and-we-make-black-look-good/) [Ednah Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ednah-walters/) > [Ooh I like your mask...ooh wait its your face..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ooh-i-like-your-mask-ooh-wait-its-your-face/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There is a veneer to this world we live in. A kind of covering, like a mask. If you start to peel back the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-ellem/there-is-a-veneer-to-this-world-we-live-in-a-kind-of-covering-like-a/) [J.K. Ellem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-ellem/) > [“M. That’s what I call her, this normal, nonexistent me. It’s not that I’ve never done those things, kissed or danced or just “hung…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/m-that-s-what-i-call-her-this-normal-nonexistent-me-it-s-not-that-i/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“He was not happy. He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He recognized this as the true state of affairs. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/he-was-not-happy-he-was-not-happy-he-said-the-words-to-himself-he/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [The world is like a Mask dancing. If you want to see it well, you do not stand in one place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/the-world-is-like-a-mask-dancing-if-you-want-to-see-it-well-you-do/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [It was like letting go and falling back into water and seeing yourself grinning up through the water, your face like a mask, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rhys/it-was-like-letting-go-and-falling-back-into-water-and-seeing/) [Jean Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rhys/) > [It's a terrible thing to be alone - yes it is - it is - but don't lower your mask until you have another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/it-s-a-terrible-thing-to-be-alone-yes-it-is-it-is-but-don-t-lower/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [“Sometimes confidence is worn like a mask to shield people from seeing insecurities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vi-keeland/sometimes-confidence-is-worn-like-a-mask-to-shield-people-from-seeing/) [Vi Keeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vi-keeland/) > [For 'Blue Jasmine,' I made a decision not to wear any make up in the last shot of the film, as I felt like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/for-blue-jasmine-i-made-a-decision-not-to-wear-any-make-up-in-the/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [“He felt his smile slide away, melt, fold over and down on itself like a tallow skin, like the stuff of a fantastic candle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/he-felt-his-smile-slide-away-melt-fold-over-and-down-on-itself-like-a/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Because I'm pretty, everybody thinks I'm stupid. But it is like a mask, and you have to break the mask to show that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-bellucci/because-i-m-pretty-everybody-thinks-i-m-stupid-but-it-is-like-a-mask/) [Monica Bellucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-bellucci/) ## More by Anne Sexton > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I am crazy as hell, but I know it. And knowing it is a kind of sanity that makes the sickness worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-am-crazy-as-hell-but-i-know-it-and-knowing-it-is-a-kind-of-sanity/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [And what of the dead? They lie without shoes in the stone boats. They are more like stone than the sea would be if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/and-what-of-the-dead-they-lie-without-shoes-in-the-stone-boats-they/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [The Witch's Life" When I was a child there was an old woman in our neighborhood whom we called The Witch. All day she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/the-witch-s-life-when-i-was-a-child-there-was-an-old-woman-in-our/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I have forgiven all the old actors for dying. A new one comes on with the same lines, like large white growths, in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-have-forgiven-all-the-old-actors-for-dying-a-new-one-comes-on-with/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“From the Garden” Come, my beloved, consider the lilies. We are of little faith. We talk too much. Put your mouthful of words away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/from-the-garden-come-my-beloved-consider-the-lilies-we-are-of-little/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Oh thumb, I want a drink it is dark, where are the big people, when will I get there...?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/oh-thumb-i-want-a-drink-it-is-dark-where-are-the-big-people-when-will/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I want to kiss God on His nose and watch Him sneeze and so do you. Not out of disrespect. Out of pique. Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-want-to-kiss-god-on-his-nose-and-watch-him-sneeze-and-so-do-you-not/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I, in my brand new body, which was not a woman's yet, told the stars my questions and thought God could really see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-in-my-brand-new-body-which-was-not-a-woman-s-yet-told-the-stars-my/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Father, you died once, salted down at fifty-nine, packed down like a big snow angel, wasn't that enough?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/father-you-died-once-salted-down-at-fifty-nine-packed-down-like-a-big/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [When I'm writing, I know I'm doing the thing I was born to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/when-i-m-writing-i-know-i-m-doing-the-thing-i-was-born-to-do/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Cinderella and the prince lived, they say, happily ever after, like two dolls in a museum case never bothered by diapers or dust, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/cinderella-and-the-prince-lived-they-say-happily-ever-after-like-two/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“Quite collected at cocktail parties, meanwhile in my head I'm undergoing open-heart surgery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/quite-collected-at-cocktail-parties-meanwhile-in-my-head-i-m/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I cannot walk an inch / without trying to walk to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-cannot-walk-an-inch-without-trying-to-walk-to-god/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Now that I have written many words, and let out so many loves, for so many, and been altogether what I always was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/now-that-i-have-written-many-words-and-let-out-so-many-loves-for-so/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Explore all 428 Anne Sexton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## More Anger quotes > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [My care will be in the heart n not in words My anger will be in Words n not in the Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-care-will-be-in-the-heart-n-not-in-words-my-anger-will-be-in-words/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have a black look I do not like. It is a mask I try on. 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