--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a dead heart. It is inside of me…" description: "\"It is a dead heart. It is inside of me. It is a stranger yet once it was agreeable, opening and closing like a clam.\" — Anne Sexton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/012/anne-sexton-645_clams_it-is-a-dead-heart-it-is-inside-of-me-it_582064.png" --- # It is a dead heart. It is inside of me. It is a stranger… ![“It is a dead heart. It is inside of me. It is a stranger yet once it was agreeable, opening and closing like a clam.” quote by Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/012/anne-sexton-645_clams_it-is-a-dead-heart-it-is-inside-of-me-it_582064.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/012/anne-sexton-645_clams_it-is-a-dead-heart-it-is-inside-of-me-it_582064.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/012/anne-sexton-645_clams_it-is-a-dead-heart-it-is-inside-of-me-it_582064.png) > “It is a dead heart. It is inside of me. It is a stranger yet once it was agreeable, opening and closing like a clam.” [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 speaker describes an inner emotional void that feels alien yet once was comforting, likening it to a clam that opens and closes. **In simple terms:** An inner emptiness that feels both strange and once familiar. Key Takeaway Recognize and address emotional numbness. Themes loneliness identity emotional health Mood melancholic introspective Type poetic reflective When to use this quote - grief counseling - personal journaling - therapy sessions - creative writing Key Concepts psychology metaphor self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - How do you identify when emotional numbness becomes harmful? - What practices can reconnect you with feeling? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex mental states. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) ## Related quotes > [“Life is like a clam,” Birds Mottle’s father once told her. “Years filtering shit then some bastard cracks you open and scrapes you into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/life-is-like-a-clam-birds-mottle-s-father-once-told-her-years/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [“She likes her wine white, and that’s how I like my clam chowder. So chuggable!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/she-likes-her-wine-white-and-that-s-how-i-like-my-clam-chowder-so/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Steve Buscemi, in between takes, becomes like a clam. It's hard to get a word out of him. It's very funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-stormare/steve-buscemi-in-between-takes-becomes-like-a-clam-it-s-hard-to-get-a/) [Peter Stormare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-stormare/) > [Was love then like a bag of assorted sweets passed around from which one might choose more than once? Some might sting the tongue,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/was-love-then-like-a-bag-of-assorted-sweets-passed-around-from-which/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [I tied down time with a rope but it came back. Then I put my head in a death bowl and my eyes shut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-tied-down-time-with-a-rope-but-it-came-back-then-i-put-my-head-in-a/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [If your heart is dead, know that the One who can give life to the dead body, can give life to your dead heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin/if-your-heart-is-dead-know-that-the-one-who-can-give-life-to-the-dead/) [Yasmin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin/) > [If you heart was really broken you'd be dead..your heart is not broken it's just hurting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamika-leeigh/if-you-heart-was-really-broken-you-d-be-dead-your-heart-is-not-broken/) [Tamika-leeigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamika-leeigh/) > [“She smiled, and his dead heart warmed. One smile would never be enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kessler/she-smiled-and-his-dead-heart-warmed-one-smile-would-never-be-enough/) [Lisa Kessler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kessler/) > [anyone who has no feelings for animals has a dead heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raegan-butcher/anyone-who-has-no-feelings-for-animals-has-a-dead-heart/) [Raegan Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raegan-butcher/) > [I don't understand why I'm not dead. When your heart breaks, you should die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/i-don-t-understand-why-i-m-not-dead-when-your-heart-breaks-you-should/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [You know, my mother used to say: A cold heart is a dead heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blade/you-know-my-mother-used-to-say-a-cold-heart-is-a-dead-heart/) Blade > [At my side, your love seems dead You have my heart but you gave me hurt, instead. I tried to understand every mistake that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/at-my-side-your-love-seems-dead-you-have-my-heart-but-you-gave-me/) Louaiq8 > [“Nobody should have to choose between a cold heart and a dead heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/nobody-should-have-to-choose-between-a-cold-heart-and-a-dead-heart/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [My Heart Is Dead But The Dead Heart Still Cries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanju/my-heart-is-dead-but-the-dead-heart-still-cries/) [Sanju](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanju/) > [You had my heart inside of your hand but you played it to the beat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adele/you-had-my-heart-inside-of-your-hand-but-you-played-it-to-the-beat/) [Adele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adele/) ## 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 Clams quotes > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Our schools too often want to shut people up so they can't talk about real solutions. People who think differently tend to clam up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/our-schools-too-often-want-to-shut-people-up-so-they-can-t-talk-about/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [This living, this living, this living Was never a project of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/this-living-this-living-this-living-was-never-a-project-of-mine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Me and Clams have always kept it organic with the way we work. It's just always the right time. It's never no pressure. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-b/me-and-clams-have-always-kept-it-organic-with-the-way-we-work-it-s/) [Lil B](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-b/) > [I froze, shocked. (And don't try to clam that you did anything different the first time a government bureaucrat pulled a gun on you.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/i-froze-shocked-and-don-t-try-to-clam-that-you-did-anything-different/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [I am lucky to be what I am! Thank goodness I'm not just a clam, or a ham, or a dusty jar of sour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/i-am-lucky-to-be-what-i-am-thank-goodness-i-m-not-just-a-clam-or-a/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [I make a wicked clam chowdah, and linguine with clam sauce. Oysters I like to eat raw, and mussels in either a white wine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-himes/i-make-a-wicked-clam-chowdah-and-linguine-with-clam-sauce-oysters-i/) [Jim Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-himes/) > [Clams's music to me is where there's no boundaries. It was just exciting for my mind to be as free as Clams's music is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-b/clams-s-music-to-me-is-where-there-s-no-boundaries-it-was-just/) [Lil B](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-b/) > [Happy as a clam, is what my mother says for happy. I am happy as a clam: hard-shelled, firmly closed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/happy-as-a-clam-is-what-my-mother-says-for-happy-i-am-happy-as-a-clam/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“You’ll be taking the last a’ those,” Dorey confided. “I had a vendor try to convince me to shrink-wrap and freeze, but they’re never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-delinsky/you-ll-be-taking-the-last-a-those-dorey-confided-i-had-a-vendor-try/) [Barbara Delinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-delinsky/) > [My favorite thing is Spaghetti with white clam sauce anywhere on the Amalfi Coast or the Tuscan Coast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-english/my-favorite-thing-is-spaghetti-with-white-clam-sauce-anywhere-on-the/) [Todd English](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-english/) > [Right before when the iMac came out is when most people associate Apple started. That's when people remember Apple - that first iMac or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-michael-stern/right-before-when-the-imac-came-out-is-when-most-people-associate/) [Joshua Michael Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-michael-stern/) > [I can joke around and do what I want and be great in my area and play around and be the best, but when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-b/i-can-joke-around-and-do-what-i-want-and-be-great-in-my-area-and-play/) [Lil B](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-b/) > [But when that smoking chowder came in, the mystery was delightfully explained. Oh! sweet friends, hearken to me. It was made of small juicy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/but-when-that-smoking-chowder-came-in-the-mystery-was-delightfully/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [When I am really angry, I clam up, go cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-kapoor/when-i-am-really-angry-i-clam-up-go-cold/) [Ram Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-kapoor/) Browse all 55 Clams quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is a dead heart. It is inside of me. 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