Heart racing Quote by Carl Phillips
““Domestic If, when studying road atlases while taking, as you call it, your morning dump, you shout down to me names like Miami City, Franconia, Cancún, as places for you to take me to from here, can I help it if all I can think is things that are stupid, like he loves me he loves me not? I don’t think so. No more than, some mornings, waking to your hands around me, and remembering these are the fingers, the hands I’ve over and over given myself to, I can stop myself from wondering does that mean they’re the same I’ll grow old with. Yesterday, in the café I keep meaning to show you, I thought this is how I’ll die maybe, alone, somewhere too far away from wherever you are then, my heart racing from espresso and too many cigarettes, my head down on the table’s cool marble, and the ceiling fan turning slowly above me, like fortune, the part of fortune that’s half-wished- for only—it did not seem the worst way. I thought this is another of those things I’m always forgetting to tell you, or don’t choose to tell you, or I tell you but only in the same way, each morning, I keep myself from saying too loud I love you until the moment you flush the toilet, then I say it, when the rumble of water running down through the house could mean anything: flood, your feet descending the stairs any moment; any moment the whole world, all I want of the world, coming down.””
About This Quote
Source Poem: “Domestic If” (2020)
The narrator wrestles with love, longing, and the mundane moments that shape intimacy, confronting uncertainty and mortality.
In simple terms: Love and daily life intertwine, revealing fear and hope.
Cherish present moments despite uncertainty.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- breakfast rituals
- café meetings
- night thoughts
- personal monologue
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What everyday acts reveal true affection?
- How does fear of loss shape how we express love?
The stream‑of‑consciousness style may obscure clarity.