--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I ask you again / You who watch / How can…" description: "\"“I ask you again / You who watch / How can there ever be any ending but this? First silence / Then darkness.”\" — Ben Power" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/545/ben-power-222657_darkness_i-ask-you-again-you-who-watch-how-can-th_343794.jpg" --- # I ask you again / You who watch / How can there ever be… ![“I ask you again / You who watch / How can there ever be any ending but this? First silence / Then darkness.” quote by Ben Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/545/ben-power-222657_darkness_i-ask-you-again-you-who-watch-how-can-th_343794.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/545/ben-power-222657_darkness_i-ask-you-again-you-who-watch-how-can-th_343794.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/545/ben-power-222657_darkness_i-ask-you-again-you-who-watch-how-can-th_343794.jpg) > ““I ask you again / You who watch / How can there ever be any ending but this? First silence / Then darkness.”” Ben Power ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poem questions the possibility of an ending, juxtaposing silence and darkness as stages of an infinite cycle. **In simple terms:** It ponders endings, linking silence then darkness. Key Takeaway Contemplate the nature of closure and continuation. Themes philosophy existence silence darkness poetry Mood mysterious contemplative Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - meditation - creative writing - personal reflection Key Concepts endings finality metaphysics Questions to Reflect On - What does “first silence” imply? - How does darkness relate to endings? A Different Perspective The abstract nature may limit concrete interpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Finality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finality/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) ## Related quotes > [It is really a matter of ending this silence and solitude, of breathing and stretching one's arms again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/it-is-really-a-matter-of-ending-this-silence-and-solitude-of/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [“Your life isn't some prerecorded movie where, no matter how many times you watch it, the ending remains the same. Your life is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/your-life-isn-t-some-prerecorded-movie-where-no-matter-how-many-times/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“ You act as if I were your enemy. “You are my enemy. You seek to end the things I love.” And is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/you-act-as-if-i-were-your-enemy-you-are-my-enemy-you-seek-to-end-the/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [Silence and darkness were all I craved. Well, I get a certain amount of both. They being one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/silence-and-darkness-were-all-i-craved-well-i-get-a-certain-amount-of/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [This is. And thou art. There is no safety. There is no end. The word must be heard in silence. There must be darkness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-is-and-thou-art-there-is-no-safety-there-is-no-end-the-word-must/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you cannot bear the silence and the darkness, do not go there; if you dislike black night and yawning chasms, never make them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/if-you-cannot-bear-the-silence-and-the-darkness-do-not-go-there-if/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [“It was an almost supernatural power, I sometimes came to think (though immediately I mocked the idea), making normally talkative people like the Bolognan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/it-was-an-almost-supernatural-power-i-sometimes-came-to-think-though/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [I wonder about silence. Also about darkness. I love the idea that city lights are a "conspiracy" against higher thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-wonder-about-silence-also-about-darkness-i-love-the-idea-that-city/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [“Our lives are so brief and unimportant. The cosmos cares nothing for us. For what we've done; Had we wrought evil instead of good.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assassins-creed/our-lives-are-so-brief-and-unimportant-the-cosmos-cares-nothing-for/) Assassins creed > [The word must be heard in silence; there must be darkness to see the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-word-must-be-heard-in-silence-there-must-be-darkness-to-see-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Whenever I see the alcove of a tastefully built Japanese room, I marvel at our comprehension of the secrets of shadows, our sensitive use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junichiro-tanizaki/whenever-i-see-the-alcove-of-a-tastefully-built-japanese-room-i/) [Junichiro Tanizaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junichiro-tanizaki/) > [“silence was darkness, and that naming shone a light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/silence-was-darkness-and-that-naming-shone-a-light/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [There is beauty in everything, even in silence and darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/there-is-beauty-in-everything-even-in-silence-and-darkness/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“And so silence and ...darkness hold happiness and joy?" he said softly. "Assuredly," she said, "provided one listens to the silence and gazes deeply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/and-so-silence-and-darkness-hold-happiness-and-joy-he-said-softly/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [“Then the dog began to moan in old Salamano’s room, and through the sleep-bound house the little plaintive sound rose slowly, like a flower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/then-the-dog-began-to-moan-in-old-salamano-s-room-and-through-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? The question was soft- tentative. I knew who he meant. I interlaced my fingers through Rhysand's and squeezed tightly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/what-does-he-look-like-the-question-was-soft-tentative-i-knew-who-he/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [“Life is like coffee, the darker it gets, the more it energizes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankita-singhal/life-is-like-coffee-the-darker-it-gets-the-more-it-energizes/) [Ankita Singhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankita-singhal/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) Nicole Gentile [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I ask you again / You who watch / How can there ever be any ending but this? 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