--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You know the parlor trick. wrap your arms…" description: "\"“You know the parlor trick. wrap your arms around your own body and from the back it looks like someone is embracing you her hands grasping your shirt ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b1/billy-collins-3004_embrace_you-know-the-parlor-trick-wrap-your-arms_2773537.jpg" --- # You know the parlor trick. wrap your arms around your own… ![“You know the parlor trick. wrap your arms around your own body and from the back it looks like someone is embracing you her hands grasping your shirt her fingernails teasing your neck from the front it is another story you never looked so alone your crossed elbows and screwy grin you could be…” quote by Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b1/billy-collins-3004_embrace_you-know-the-parlor-trick-wrap-your-arms_2773537.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b1/billy-collins-3004_embrace_you-know-the-parlor-trick-wrap-your-arms_2773537.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b1/billy-collins-3004_embrace_you-know-the-parlor-trick-wrap-your-arms_2773537.jpg) > ““You know the parlor trick. wrap your arms around your own body and from the back it looks like someone is embracing you her hands grasping your shirt her fingernails teasing your neck from the front it is another story you never looked so alone your crossed elbows and screwy grin you could be waiting for a tailor to fit you with a straight jacket one that would hold you really tight.”” [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 poem juxtaposes self‑comfort with isolation, using a physical metaphor to explore loneliness and self‑delusion. **In simple terms:** Self‑comfort can mask feeling alone. Key Takeaway Recognize true emotional needs. Themes loneliness self‑perception comfort illusion Mood reflective introspective Type poetry literary When to use this quote - personal reflection - mental health - creative writing Key Concepts self‑hug body metaphor psychological coping Questions to Reflect On - When do you use physical gestures to hide loneliness? - How does self‑hug affect your mood? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex emotional states. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [Unhappiness comes when you try to be like everyone else rather than embracing the unique person that you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/unhappiness-comes-when-you-try-to-be-like-everyone-else-rather-than/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [I feel like it's always about embracing what it is that you think is wrong with you. It's often times your greatest 'flaw' which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-thirlby/i-feel-like-it-s-always-about-embracing-what-it-is-that-you-think-is/) [Olivia Thirlby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-thirlby/) > [I like embracing other cultures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shikhar-dhawan/i-like-embracing-other-cultures/) [Shikhar Dhawan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shikhar-dhawan/) > [“As soon as he touched her she seemed to wince and stiffen. To embrace her was like embracing a jointed wooden image. And what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/as-soon-as-he-touched-her-she-seemed-to-wince-and-stiffen-to-embrace/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“In spite of everything, he still felt wonderful, like I was embracing a mountain. But I now knew that as solid as he seemed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-hartinger/in-spite-of-everything-he-still-felt-wonderful-like-i-was-embracing-a/) [Brent Hartinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-hartinger/) > [I like embracing kind of normal forms but am always trying to approach them as if no one's ever done that before. As if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/i-like-embracing-kind-of-normal-forms-but-am-always-trying-to/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [I've certainly seen a lot of my cartoonist friends embrace 'Little Lulu' in a much deeper way because their kids love it so much.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/i-ve-certainly-seen-a-lot-of-my-cartoonist-friends-embrace-little/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [To re-embrace what I once loved about music has been a warming process for me, because it's a good, earned feeling now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-corgan/to-re-embrace-what-i-once-loved-about-music-has-been-a-warming/) [Billy Corgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-corgan/) > [All of us take offense to anyone who reaps the rewards of living in America without taking on the responsibilities of living in America.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/all-of-us-take-offense-to-anyone-who-reaps-the-rewards-of-living-in/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“His hands on my waist he gently pulled me n embrace. I could feel his breath on my face our lips were about to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eglinger/his-hands-on-my-waist-he-gently-pulled-me-n-embrace-i-could-feel-his/) [Nicole Eglinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eglinger/) > [“A man of power should embrace his Shadow, or if he cannot embrace it, at least accept it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-lampe/a-man-of-power-should-embrace-his-shadow-or-if-he-cannot-embrace-it/) [Katherine Lampe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-lampe/) > [Stop chasing the things you want and embrace all that you already have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stop-chasing-the-things-you-want-and-embrace-all-that-you-already-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Strong brows is what I have, and I embrace them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-connelly/strong-brows-is-what-i-have-and-i-embrace-them/) [Jennifer Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-connelly/) > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [I had to get to the point where I just had to embrace carrying the torch for the traditional girls out there. I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamera-mowry/i-had-to-get-to-the-point-where-i-just-had-to-embrace-carrying-the/) [Tamera Mowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamera-mowry/) ## More by Billy Collins > [“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/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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/) [Explore all 141 Billy Collins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) ## More Embrace quotes > [I had to get to the point where I just had to embrace carrying the torch for the traditional girls out there. I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamera-mowry/i-had-to-get-to-the-point-where-i-just-had-to-embrace-carrying-the/) [Tamera Mowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamera-mowry/) > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [Strong brows is what I have, and I embrace them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-connelly/strong-brows-is-what-i-have-and-i-embrace-them/) [Jennifer Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-connelly/) > [Stop chasing the things you want and embrace all that you already have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stop-chasing-the-things-you-want-and-embrace-all-that-you-already-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A man of power should embrace his Shadow, or if he cannot embrace it, at least accept it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-lampe/a-man-of-power-should-embrace-his-shadow-or-if-he-cannot-embrace-it/) [Katherine Lampe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-lampe/) > [“His hands on my waist he gently pulled me n embrace. I could feel his breath on my face our lips were about to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eglinger/his-hands-on-my-waist-he-gently-pulled-me-n-embrace-i-could-feel-his/) [Nicole Eglinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eglinger/) > [All of us take offense to anyone who reaps the rewards of living in America without taking on the responsibilities of living in America.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/all-of-us-take-offense-to-anyone-who-reaps-the-rewards-of-living-in/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [To re-embrace what I once loved about music has been a warming process for me, because it's a good, earned feeling now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-corgan/to-re-embrace-what-i-once-loved-about-music-has-been-a-warming/) [Billy Corgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-corgan/) > [I've certainly seen a lot of my cartoonist friends embrace 'Little Lulu' in a much deeper way because their kids love it so much.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/i-ve-certainly-seen-a-lot-of-my-cartoonist-friends-embrace-little/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [Sometimes, Ms. Lane," he said, "one must break with one's past to embrace one's future. It is never an easy thing to do. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/sometimes-ms-lane-he-said-one-must-break-with-one-s-past-to-embrace/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Those who embrace prejudice doom themselves to live in ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-lintz-sr/those-who-embrace-prejudice-doom-themselves-to-live-in-ignorance/) John P Lintz Sr > [Life is a climb and it's a struggle getting to the top but the drop to the bottom can be quick and so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/life-is-a-climb-and-it-s-a-struggle-getting-to-the-top-but-the-drop/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [Everything is a part of what God's up to in your life, so I think our job is to embrace it. Everything. Embrace it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-gaither/everything-is-a-part-of-what-god-s-up-to-in-your-life-so-i-think-our/) [Gloria Gaither](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-gaither/) > [At a time when painting itself often seems to be a threatened, even despised, form of artistic activity, Andrew Salgado emerges as a dazzlingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/at-a-time-when-painting-itself-often-seems-to-be-a-threatened-even/) Edward Lucie-Smith > [You want to embrace, but I can't figure out how to hold on to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-duritz/you-want-to-embrace-but-i-can-t-figure-out-how-to-hold-on-to-it/) [Adam Duritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-duritz/) Browse all 3,428 Embrace quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You know the parlor trick. wrap your arms around your own body and from the back it looks like someone is embracing you her hands grasping your shirt her fingernails teasing your neck from the front it is another story you never looked so alone your crossed elbows and screwy grin you could be waiting for a tailor to fit you with a straight jacket one that would hold you really tight.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Billy Collins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/you-know-the-parlor-trick-wrap-your-arms-around-your-own-body-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Embrace" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/you-know-the-parlor-trick-wrap-your-arms-around-your-own-body-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b1/billy-collins-3004_embrace_you-know-the-parlor-trick-wrap-your-arms_2773537.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b1/billy-collins-3004_embrace_you-know-the-parlor-trick-wrap-your-arms_2773537.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b1/billy-collins-3004_embrace_you-know-the-parlor-trick-wrap-your-arms_2773537.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You know the parlor trick. wrap your arms around your own body and from the back it looks like someone is…” — 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": "“You know the parlor trick. wrap...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/you-know-the-parlor-trick-wrap-your-arms-around-your-own-body-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/you-know-the-parlor-trick-wrap-your-arms-around-your-own-body-and/#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 } } ] } ```