--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My sleeping pill is white. It is a…" description: "\"My sleeping pill is white. It is a splendid pearl; it floats me out of myself, my stung skin as alien as a loose bolt of cloth.\" — Anne Sexton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/anne-sexton-645_aliens_my-sleeping-pill-is-white-it-is-a-splend_3145493.png" --- # My sleeping pill is white. It is a splendid pearl; it… ![“My sleeping pill is white. It is a splendid pearl; it floats me out of myself, my stung skin as alien as a loose bolt of cloth.” quote by Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/anne-sexton-645_aliens_my-sleeping-pill-is-white-it-is-a-splend_3145493.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/anne-sexton-645_aliens_my-sleeping-pill-is-white-it-is-a-splend_3145493.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/anne-sexton-645_aliens_my-sleeping-pill-is-white-it-is-a-splend_3145493.png) > “My sleeping pill is white. It is a splendid pearl; it floats me out of myself, my stung skin as alien as a loose bolt of cloth.” [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 sleeping pill offers an escape, likened to a pearl that lifts the speaker from pain. **In simple terms:** Pills can provide temporary relief from suffering. Key Takeaway Use medication responsibly and seek deeper healing. Themes mental health escape dependency Mood melancholic introspective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - nighttime insomnia - chronic pain - anxiety attacks - depression episodes Key Concepts addiction self‑medication psychological relief Questions to Reflect On - What does the “pearl” symbolize for you? - How can you find lasting peace beyond medication? A Different Perspective Relying on pills may mask underlying issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aliens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aliens/) [Bolts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bolts/) [Floats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/floats/) [Pearls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pearls/) [Pill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pill/) [Pill White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pill-white-5624167/) [Pills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pills/) [Skin Alien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skin-alien-3244512/) [Skins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skins/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Sleeping Pill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleeping-pill-967489/) [Sleeping pills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleeping-pills/) [Splendid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/splendid/) [Splendid Pearl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/splendid-pearl-5624168/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) ## Related quotes > [A sleeping pill will never take the place of a clear conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-cantor/a-sleeping-pill-will-never-take-the-place-of-a-clear-conscience/) [Eddie Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-cantor/) > [So I take a little sleeping pill, pop it and realize nothing's happening - but something else was happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-renner/so-i-take-a-little-sleeping-pill-pop-it-and-realize-nothing-s/) [Jeremy Renner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-renner/) > [To me, skin is alien and kind of weird; it weirds me out. It's strange, but it's also really intimate and personal; it's living,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flume/to-me-skin-is-alien-and-kind-of-weird-it-weirds-me-out-it-s-strange/) [Flume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flume/) > [Good sex is better than any sleeping pill. Couples who fall asleep after tend to get a perfect night's sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/good-sex-is-better-than-any-sleeping-pill-couples-who-fall-asleep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [TV is my sleeping pill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-janssen/tv-is-my-sleeping-pill/) [David Janssen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-janssen/) > [A worker like me who have exhausted themselves more richand deep sleep is sleep? I am poor, can not sleep without a sleeping pill!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/a-worker-like-me-who-have-exhausted-themselves-more-richand-deep/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [“Great.My brother was an entertainer and I was a sleeping pill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawthorne/great-my-brother-was-an-entertainer-and-i-was-a-sleeping-pill/) [Rachel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawthorne/) > [I am fed up with men who use sex like a sleeping pill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-braxton/i-am-fed-up-with-men-who-use-sex-like-a-sleeping-pill/) [Toni Braxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-braxton/) > [To switch off, I will take a sleeping pill if I have to. I also found myself realigning things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-maitlis/to-switch-off-i-will-take-a-sleeping-pill-if-i-have-to-i-also-found/) [Emily Maitlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-maitlis/) > [I'm doped and thick from my last sleeping pill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-m-doped-and-thick-from-my-last-sleeping-pill/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“In the evening, she took a sleeping pill. As the months passed, she became much kinder to me than she had been, but her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/in-the-evening-she-took-a-sleeping-pill-as-the-months-passed-she/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [If I feel in need of sleep, I just open a book or turn on the television. Both are better than any sleeping pill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/if-i-feel-in-need-of-sleep-i-just-open-a-book-or-turn-on-the/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [Never under any circumstances take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-under-any-circumstances-take-a-sleeping-pill-and-a-laxative-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The labels on the little bottles and boxes do not tell you which one is the sleeping pill. Instead they have names, long strange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-murray/the-labels-on-the-little-bottles-and-boxes-do-not-tell-you-which-one/) [Paul Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-murray/) > [“Feeling good about yourself is the best sleeping pill of all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annika-s-rensen/feeling-good-about-yourself-is-the-best-sleeping-pill-of-all/) [Annika Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annika-s-rensen/) ## 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 Aliens quotes > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-o-connell/my-days-the-blossom-of-my-youth-and-the-flower-of-my-manhood-have/) [Daniel O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-o-connell/) > [Ay-firmative,' Eve said, and tried for a smile. 'Sorry. An Aliens reference always makes me feel better at times like this. Exept I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/ay-firmative-eve-said-and-tried-for-a-smile-sorry-an-aliens-reference/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) > [You gonna take the case?" It's not a case. It's a missing person. Sort of." You're gonna have a devil of a time finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/you-gonna-take-the-case-it-s-not-a-case-it-s-a-missing-person-sort-of/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) [Chaz Brenchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaz-brenchley/) > [Emma was a shocking driver, simultaneously sloppy and petrified, and for the first fifty miles had been absent-mindedly driving with her spectacles on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/emma-was-a-shocking-driver-simultaneously-sloppy-and-petrified-and/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. Humans assume that alien life forms should conform to standards that match our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/humans-suffer-from-self-centred-notions-as-to-the-nature-of-life/) [Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/) > [If you're going to immerse yourself in a project for three years, why not stake out a chunk of the world that is completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/if-you-re-going-to-immerse-yourself-in-a-project-for-three-years-why/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [I'm not a fan of any genre but am a fan of movies that are intelligent and/or funny. That goes across all genres: a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-a-fan-of-any-genre-but-am-a-fan-of-movies-that-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The respect for human rights, essential if we are to use technology wisely, is not something alien that must be grafted onto science. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/the-respect-for-human-rights-essential-if-we-are-to-use-technology/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [“Intellectualism is a poor master over passion”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twe-stephens/intellectualism-is-a-poor-master-over-passion/) [Twe Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twe-stephens/) > [Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/robin-williams-was-an-airman-a-doctor-a-genie-a-nanny-a-president-a/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Evangelicals are distraught over the state of America because they have not been taught that we're aliens here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/evangelicals-are-distraught-over-the-state-of-america-because-they/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Even the Supreme Court, back when it used to makes sense, the Supreme Court has never ruled that a baby born to illegal aliens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/even-the-supreme-court-back-when-it-used-to-makes-sense-the-supreme/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Some pundits have proposed that the aliens have come here to breed with us. Apparently, too much bike riding or something similar has rendered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/some-pundits-have-proposed-that-the-aliens-have-come-here-to-breed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Browse all 1,329 Aliens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aliens/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My sleeping pill is white. It is a splendid pearl; it floats me out of myself, my stung skin as alien as a loose bolt of cloth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Sexton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/my-sleeping-pill-is-white-it-is-a-splendid-pearl-it-floats-me-out-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aliens" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/my-sleeping-pill-is-white-it-is-a-splendid-pearl-it-floats-me-out-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/anne-sexton-645_aliens_my-sleeping-pill-is-white-it-is-a-splend_3145493.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/anne-sexton-645_aliens_my-sleeping-pill-is-white-it-is-a-splend_3145493.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/anne-sexton-645_aliens_my-sleeping-pill-is-white-it-is-a-splend_3145493.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My sleeping pill is white. It is a splendid pearl; it floats me out of myself, my stung skin as alien as a…” — Anne Sexton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anne Sexton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My sleeping pill is white. It...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/my-sleeping-pill-is-white-it-is-a-splendid-pearl-it-floats-me-out-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/my-sleeping-pill-is-white-it-is-a-splendid-pearl-it-floats-me-out-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```