--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The whole idea of it makes me feel Like…" description: "\"“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I get from reading in b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d4/billy-collins-3004_age_the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like_6191.png" --- # The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down… ![“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I get from reading in bad light – A kind of measles of the spirit A mumps of the psyche, A disfiguring chicken pox of the soul. You tell me it is too early to be looking…” quote by Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d4/billy-collins-3004_age_the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like_6191.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d4/billy-collins-3004_age_the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like_6191.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d4/billy-collins-3004_age_the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like_6191.png) > ““The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I get from reading in bad light – A kind of measles of the spirit A mumps of the psyche, A disfiguring chicken pox of the soul. You tell me it is too early to be looking back, But that is because you have forgotten The perfect simplicity of being one And the beautiful complexity introduced by two But I can lie on my bed and remember every digit At four I was an Arabian wizard I could make myself invisible By drinking a glass of milk a certain way. At seven I was a solider, at nine a prince. But now I am mostly at the window Watching the late afternoon light. Back then it never fell so solemnly Against the side of my tree house, And my bicycle never leaned against the garage As it does today, All the dark blue speed drained out of it. This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself, As I walk through the universe in my sneakers. It is time to say good-bye to my imagry friends, Time to turn the first big number.”” [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) ## 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 reflects on the loss of childhood imagination, feeling a lingering melancholy as they transition into adult awareness, using vivid illness metaphors to describe the erosion of wonder. **In simple terms:** Nostalgia for lost imagination. Key Takeaway Adult reality dims youthful fantasy. Themes nostalgia identity transition imagination loss growth Mood melancholic reflective wistful Type personal essay poetic meditation When to use this quote - reflecting on past creative play - feeling creative after a long day - realizing responsibilities outweigh daydreams Key Concepts childhood wonder adult disillusionment metaphorical illness self-reflection Practical Applications - use as a prompt for creative writing on growing up - inspire discussions on preserving imagination Questions to Reflect On - How does the metaphor of illness shape the perception of losing imagination? - What can be reclaimed from childhood wonder in adult life? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Ageing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ageing/) [Beginning Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning-sadness-312178/) [Dark blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-blue/) [Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel/) [Feel Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-like/) [Growing old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-old/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Late afternoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late-afternoon/) [Passage of time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passage-of-time/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Sadness Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness-say-312179/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Too early](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-early/) ## Related quotes > [“The whole idea of it makes me feel like I'm coming down with something, something worse than any stomach ache or the headaches I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with-2/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [“Before heading back up the road, she had turned for a moment toward the sea. In the late afternoon light, the water was gray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/before-heading-back-up-the-road-she-had-turned-for-a-moment-toward/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [“Much of my life has been devoted to trying not to cry in front of people who love me, so I knew what Augustus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/much-of-my-life-has-been-devoted-to-trying-not-to-cry-in-front-of/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“What I mean is, right from that first time, there was something in Tommy's manner that was tinged with sadness, that seemed to say:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/what-i-mean-is-right-from-that-first-time-there-was-something-in/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“They were people whose lives were slow, who did not see themselves growing old, or falling sick, or dying, but who disappeared little by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/they-were-people-whose-lives-were-slow-who-did-not-see-themselves/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“flavourings, and many other assorted pollutants. I got a plain house blend, black, no sugar, in the middle-sized go-cup, not the enormous grande bucket…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/flavourings-and-many-other-assorted-pollutants-i-got-a-plain-house/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Hurry up, he'll be coming back pretty soon!" Lynda spelled with a "y" Corgill, who was two years behind Dara, Mackenzie, and Jennifer, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-casey/hurry-up-he-ll-be-coming-back-pretty-soon-lynda-spelled-with-a-y/) [Barbara Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-casey/) > [“That's how long it had been since thirty-five year-old Frank DeLuca had been home. It was strange how little had changed in the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-dubois/that-s-how-long-it-had-been-since-thirty-five-year-old-frank-deluca/) [Lucinda DuBois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-dubois/) > [“ Bye ,” he said with a gentle smile. And with that, his delicious boots walked right out of the J-Bar, his dark blue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ree-drummond/bye-he-said-with-a-gentle-smile-and-with-that-his-delicious-boots/) [Ree Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ree-drummond/) > [“Towards four o'clock the dew fell, and she smelled a gust of sweetness from the roses and a paleness showed in the sky to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumer-godden/towards-four-o-clock-the-dew-fell-and-she-smelled-a-gust-of-sweetness/) [Rumer Godden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumer-godden/) > [“Then I heard footsteps on a stairs, and in a moment the thickish figure of a woman blocked out the light from the office…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/then-i-heard-footsteps-on-a-stairs-and-in-a-moment-the-thickish/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“She was wearing blue jeans and a dark blue peasant blouse, the ties of the neck open. She looked so beautiful and soft, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/she-was-wearing-blue-jeans-and-a-dark-blue-peasant-blouse-the-ties-of/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“Despite the cold outside, she was wearing a cropped white shirt and tight dark blue jeans that sat low, revealing a tattoo of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/despite-the-cold-outside-she-was-wearing-a-cropped-white-shirt-and/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“Darwin, landing in Brazil in 1832, had a similar reaction, colored by his reading of his predecessor." Humboldt's glorious descriptions are & will for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/darwin-landing-in-brazil-in-1832-had-a-similar-reaction-colored-by/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“For a long time before I met you, I felt my life was this kind of test. I was in deep, cold water, swimming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-raeder/for-a-long-time-before-i-met-you-i-felt-my-life-was-this-kind-of-test/) [Leah Raeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-raeder/) ## More by Billy Collins > [I think clarity is the real risk in poetry because you are exposed. You're out in the open field. You're actually saying things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-think-clarity-is-the-real-risk-in-poetry-because-you-are-exposed/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [...pleasure, of course, is a slippery word… Our pleasures ultimately belong to us, not to the pleasure's so](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/pleasure-of-course-is-a-slippery-word-our-pleasures-ultimately-belong/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I stared up at the ebbing quarter moon and the stars scattered like a handful of salt across the faraway sky...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-stared-up-at-the-ebbing-quarter-moon-and-the-stars-scattered-like-a/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Death is what makes life fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/death-is-what-makes-life-fun/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [A trouble with poetry is the presence of presumptuousness in poetry, the sense you get in a poem that the poet takes for granted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/a-trouble-with-poetry-is-the-presence-of-presumptuousness-in-poetry/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [You come by your style by learning what to leave out. At first you tend to overwrite—embellishment instead of insight. You either continue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/you-come-by-your-style-by-learning-what-to-leave-out-at-first-you/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [But my heart is always propped up in a field on its tripod, ready for the next arrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/but-my-heart-is-always-propped-up-in-a-field-on-its-tripod-ready-for/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I can hear the library humming in the night, a choir of authors murmuring inside their books along the unlit, alphabetical shelves, Giovanni Pontano…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-can-hear-the-library-humming-in-the-night-a-choir-of-authors/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Every Day Is for the Thief is a vivid, episodic evocation of the truism that you can't go home again; but that doesn't mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/every-day-is-for-the-thief-is-a-vivid-episodic-evocation-of-the/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Humor, for me, is really a gate of departure. Its a way of enticing a reader into a poem so that less funny things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/humor-for-me-is-really-a-gate-of-departure-its-a-way-of-enticing-a/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [You know how sometimes you just have a memory of looking up and seeing a face looking over your crib and then remember nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/you-know-how-sometimes-you-just-have-a-memory-of-looking-up-and/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Usually the poems are written in one sitting. There's always a groping towards some satisfying ending. But I'd say the hardest part is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/usually-the-poems-are-written-in-one-sitting-there-s-always-a-groping/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I was influenced by the Beats because I actually just began to commit adolescence around 1955, when "Howl" and Rebel Without a Cause and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-was-influenced-by-the-beats-because-i-actually-just-began-to-commit/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Some difficulty is warranted and other difficulty I think is gratuitous. And I think I can tell the difference. There are certainly very difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/some-difficulty-is-warranted-and-other-difficulty-i-think-is/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [“But earlier this week on a wooded path, I thought the swans afloat on the reservoir were the true geniuses, the ones who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/but-earlier-this-week-on-a-wooded-path-i-thought-the-swans-afloat-on/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) [Explore all 141 Billy Collins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I get from reading in bad light – A kind of measles of the spirit A mumps of the psyche, A disfiguring chicken pox of the soul. You tell me it is too early to be looking back, But that is because you have forgotten The perfect simplicity of being one And the beautiful complexity introduced by two But I can lie on my bed and remember every digit At four I was an Arabian wizard I could make myself invisible By drinking a glass of milk a certain way. At seven I was a solider, at nine a prince. But now I am mostly at the window Watching the late afternoon light. Back then it never fell so solemnly Against the side of my tree house, And my bicycle never leaned against the garage As it does today, All the dark blue speed drained out of it. This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself, As I walk through the universe in my sneakers. It is time to say good-bye to my imagry friends, Time to turn the first big number.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Billy Collins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d4/billy-collins-3004_age_the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like_6191.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d4/billy-collins-3004_age_the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like_6191.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d4/billy-collins-3004_age_the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like_6191.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach…” — Billy Collins", "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": "Billy Collins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The whole idea of it makes...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/#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 } } ] } ```