--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once in a dream I saw a snake swallowing…" description: "\"Once in a dream I saw a snake swallowing its own tail, it swallowed and swallowed until it got halfway round, and there it stopped and there it stayed,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/charles-bukowski-73_dream_once-in-a-dream-i-saw-a-snake-swallowing_766156.jpg" --- # Once in a dream I saw a snake swallowing its own tail, it… ![“Once in a dream I saw a snake swallowing its own tail, it swallowed and swallowed until it got halfway round, and there it stopped and there it stayed, it was stuffed with its own self. Some fix, that. We only have ourselves to go on, and it’s enough…” quote by Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/charles-bukowski-73_dream_once-in-a-dream-i-saw-a-snake-swallowing_766156.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/charles-bukowski-73_dream_once-in-a-dream-i-saw-a-snake-swallowing_766156.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/charles-bukowski-73_dream_once-in-a-dream-i-saw-a-snake-swallowing_766156.jpg) > “Once in a dream I saw a snake swallowing its own tail, it swallowed and swallowed until it got halfway round, and there it stopped and there it stayed, it was stuffed with its own self. Some fix, that. We only have ourselves to go on, and it’s enough…” [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The endless self‑consumption of a snake symbolizes futile cycles, yet self‑reliance is sufficient. **In simple terms:** Self‑reliance is enough despite endless loops. Key Takeaway Embrace self‑reliance. Themes self‑reliance cycles existence Mood melancholic contemplative Type poetry philosophical When to use this quote - personal crises - creative blocks - relationship patterns Key Concepts solipsism meaninglessness acceptance Questions to Reflect On - What cycles keep you stuck? - How can self‑reliance be healthy? A Different Perspective Self‑reliance can become isolation if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Goes on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goes-on/) [Halfway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/halfway/) [Saws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saws/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Snake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snake/) [Snake Swallowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snake-swallowing-5931726/) [Snakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snakes/) [Swallowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swallowed/) [Swallowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swallowing/) [Swallowing Tail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swallowing-tail-5931727/) [Tail Swallowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tail-swallowed-5931725/) [Tails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tails/) ## Related quotes > [I liked the taste of beer, its live, white lather, its brass-bright depths, the sudden world through the wet-brown walls of the glass, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-liked-the-taste-of-beer-its-live-white-lather-its-brass-bright/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [The best protection against propaganda of any sort is the recognition of it for what it is. 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Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) ## More by Charles Bukowski > [“sometimes when everything seems at its worst when all conspires and gnaws and the hours, days, weeks years seem wasted – stretched there upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/sometimes-when-everything-seems-at-its-worst-when-all-conspires-and/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [well, death says, as he walks by, I'm going to get you anyhow no matter what you've been: writer, cab-driver, pimp, butcher, sky-diver, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/well-death-says-as-he-walks-by-i-m-going-to-get-you-anyhow-no-matter/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“There is only one place to write and that is alone at a typewriter. 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People with no morals often considered themselves more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/strangers-when-you-meet-strangers-when-you-part-a-gymnasium-of-bodies/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I like to change liquor stores frequently because the clerks got to know your habits if you went in night and day and bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-like-to-change-liquor-stores-frequently-because-the-clerks-got-to/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I was like a turd that drew flies instead of like a flower that butterflies and bees desired. I wanted to live alone,I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-was-like-a-turd-that-drew-flies-instead-of-like-a-flower-that/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [It's 4:30 in the morning, it's always 4:30 in the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/it-s-4-30-in-the-morning-it-s-always-4-30-in-the-morning/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I had no feeling for the things so many others needed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-had-no-feeling-for-the-things-so-many-others-needed/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I am sick with caring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-am-sick-with-caring/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I went home each night dizzy and sick. He was murdering me with the sound of his voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-went-home-each-night-dizzy-and-sick-he-was-murdering-me-with-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“the nights you fight best are when all the weapons are pointed at you, when all the voices hurl their insults while the dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-nights-you-fight-best-are-when-all-the-weapons-are-pointed-at-you/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) [Explore all 1,492 Charles Bukowski quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) ## More Dream quotes > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. 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I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Browse all 26,527 Dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Once in a dream I saw a snake swallowing its own tail, it swallowed and swallowed until it got halfway round, and there it stopped and there it stayed, it was stuffed with its own self. Some fix, that. 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