---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: there is a loneliness in this world so…"
description: "\"“there is a loneliness in this world so great that you can see it in the slow movement of the hands of a clock. people so tired mutilated either by lov..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/charles-bukowski-73_loneliness_there-is-a-loneliness-in-this-world-so-g_668323.jpg"
---

#  there is a loneliness in this world so great that you can…

![“there is a loneliness in this world so great that you can see it in the slow movement of the hands of a clock. people so tired mutilated either by love or no love. people just are not good to each other one on one. the rich are not good to the rich the poor are not good to the poor. we are afraid…” quote by Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/charles-bukowski-73_loneliness_there-is-a-loneliness-in-this-world-so-g_668323.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/charles-bukowski-73_loneliness_there-is-a-loneliness-in-this-world-so-g_668323.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/charles-bukowski-73_loneliness_there-is-a-loneliness-in-this-world-so-g_668323.jpg)

> ““there is a loneliness in this world so great that you can see it in the slow movement of the hands of a clock. people so tired mutilated either by love or no love. people just are not good to each other one on one. the rich are not good to the rich the poor are not good to the poor. we are afraid. our educational system tells us that we can all be big-ass winners. it hasn't told us about the gutters or the suicides. or the terror of one person aching in one place alone untouched unspoken to watering a plant.””

[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.

A bleak observation of pervasive loneliness and societal failure, highlighting isolation across classes and the neglect of mental health.

**In simple terms:** Society leaves many feeling isolated and unheard.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and address hidden suffering.

Themes

loneliness societal critique mental health

Mood

somber reflective

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

- urban life
- personal reflection
- systemic neglect

Key Concepts

existentialism social inequality despair

Questions to Reflect On

- What can individuals do to alleviate such loneliness?
- How can societies better support mental health?

A Different Perspective

May romanticize despair without offering solutions.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/)

## Related quotes

> [I'm afraid of being poor; I'm afraid of living in the projects... I'm afraid of being thought as unsuccessful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-mencia/i-m-afraid-of-being-poor-i-m-afraid-of-living-in-the-projects-i-m/)

[Carlos Mencia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-mencia/)

> [It is a common condition of being poor...you are always afraid that the good things in your life are temporary, that someone can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bragg/it-is-a-common-condition-of-being-poor-you-are-always-afraid-that-the/)

[Rick Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-bragg/)

> [“There is a loneliness in this world so great that you can see it in the slow movement of the hands of a clock.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-is-a-loneliness-in-this-world-so-great-that-you-can-see-it-in-3/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [there is a loneliness in this world so great that you can see it in the slow movement of the hands of a clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-is-a-loneliness-in-this-world-so-great-that-you-can-see-it-in-2/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [“At the same time there was the good of the poor and the good of the rich. And the good of the whites, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/at-the-same-time-there-was-the-good-of-the-poor-and-the-good-of-the/)

[Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/)

> [I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion about the means. I think the best way of doing good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/i-am-for-doing-good-to-the-poor-but-i-differ-in-opinion-about-the/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [They gave me star treatment when I was making a lot of money. But I was just as good when I was poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/they-gave-me-star-treatment-when-i-was-making-a-lot-of-money-but-i/)

[Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/)

> [“I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/i-think-the-best-way-of-doing-good-to-the-poor-is-not-making-them/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [“I am for doing good to the poor, but...I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/i-am-for-doing-good-to-the-poor-but-i-think-the-best-way-of-doing/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Men are good. But they are poor victims making themselves miserable under the false belief that they are doing good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/men-are-good-but-they-are-poor-victims-making-themselves-miserable/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [“Believe me, I know what it's like to feel all alone...the worst kind of loneliness in the world is the isolation that comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/believe-me-i-know-what-it-s-like-to-feel-all-alone-the-worst-kind-of/)

[Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/)

> [Like falling stars from the universe we are hurled Down through the long loneliness of the world Until we behold the pain, become the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmylou-harris/like-falling-stars-from-the-universe-we-are-hurled-down-through-the/)

[Emmylou Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmylou-harris/)

> [It's just one of those days when I want to lay in my bed, put my earphones in and drown out the stress, pain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/it-s-just-one-of-those-days-when-i-want-to-lay-in-my-bed-put-my/)

[Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/)

> [“He had learned that it was the smallness of people that filled him with wonder and tenderness, and the loneliness of that too. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/he-had-learned-that-it-was-the-smallness-of-people-that-filled-him-2/)

[Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/)

> [“The worst kind of loneliness in the world is isolation that comes from being misunderstood. It can make people lose their grasp on reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shyza-chaudhry/the-worst-kind-of-loneliness-in-the-world-is-isolation-that-comes/)

Shyza Chaudhry

## 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. A writer who has to go into the streets is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-is-only-one-place-to-write-and-that-is-alone-at-a-typewriter-a/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [Even the stove and the refrigerator looked human, I mean good human - they seemed to have arms and voices and they said, hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/even-the-stove-and-the-refrigerator-looked-human-i-mean-good-human/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [“nerves twitching in the sheets -- to face the sunlight again, that's clearly trouble. I like the city better when the neon lights are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/nerves-twitching-in-the-sheets-to-face-the-sunlight-again-that-s/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [“Their Love Is Average, Seeks Average But There Is Genius In Their Hatred”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/their-love-is-average-seeks-average-but-there-is-genius-in-their/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [“I climbed the stairway (there was no elevator) and put the key in. The door swung open. Somebody had changed all the furniture around,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-climbed-the-stairway-there-was-no-elevator-and-put-the-key-in-the/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [“Strangers when you meet, strangers when you part -a gymnasium of bodies namelessly masturbating each other. 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 Loneliness quotes

> [“Hell is only loneliness, a place without play for the soul, a place without God. How could there be God in loneliness when God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/hell-is-only-loneliness-a-place-without-play-for-the-soul-a-place/)

[Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/)

> [Believe to the end, even if all men went astray and you were left the only one faithful; bring your offering even then and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/believe-to-the-end-even-if-all-men-went-astray-and-you-were-left-the/)

[Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/)

> [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/)

[Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/)

> [I'm not alone, but I am lonely without you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-alone-but-i-am-lonely-without-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [What is the opposite of two? A lonely me, a lonely you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-the-opposite-of-two-a-lonely-me-a-lonely-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [We often refer to loneliness as something negative. And we look at it as a weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-shetty/we-often-refer-to-loneliness-as-something-negative-and-we-look-at-it/)

[Jay Shetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-shetty/)

> [I need the pain of loneliness to make my imagination work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-need-the-pain-of-loneliness-to-make-my-imagination-work/)

[Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/)

> [There was only the broad square with the scattered dim moons of the street lamps and with the monumental stone arch which receded into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/there-was-only-the-broad-square-with-the-scattered-dim-moons-of-the/)

[Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/)

> [A man in a bookstore buys a book on loneliness and every woman in the store hits on him. A woman buys a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/a-man-in-a-bookstore-buys-a-book-on-loneliness-and-every-woman-in-the/)

[Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/)

> [For years mental health professionals taught people that they could be psychologically healthy without social support, that “unless you love yourself, no one else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-d-perry/for-years-mental-health-professionals-taught-people-that-they-could/)

[Bruce D. Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-d-perry/)

> [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [Don't let 'being single' make you feel like a loner. Its better to be alone. Relationships arent cures for loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-let-being-single-make-you-feel-like-a-loner-its-better-to-be/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“In the parking lot, she drove and parked in a dark area with no other cars around. She reclined her seat, and listened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/in-the-parking-lot-she-drove-and-parked-in-a-dark-area-with-no-other/)

[Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/)

> [Attempt to be creative for the joy it brings… Select something like music, dance, sculpture, or poetry. Being creative will help you enjoy life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-g-scott/attempt-to-be-creative-for-the-joy-it-brings-select-something-like/)

[Richard G. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-g-scott/)

> [Get away from me misery, get away from me loneliness, get away from me fake bitches I can't take the phoniness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/get-away-from-me-misery-get-away-from-me-loneliness-get-away-from-me/)

[Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/)

[Browse all 4,995 Loneliness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“there is a loneliness in this world so great that you can see it in the slow movement of the hands of a clock. people so tired mutilated either by love or no love. people just are not good to each other one on one. the rich are not good to the rich the poor are not good to the poor. we are afraid. our educational system tells us that we can all be big-ass winners. it hasn't told us about the gutters or the suicides. or the terror of one person aching in one place alone untouched unspoken to watering a plant.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Charles Bukowski"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-is-a-loneliness-in-this-world-so-great-that-you-can-see-it-in/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Loneliness"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-is-a-loneliness-in-this-world-so-great-that-you-can-see-it-in/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/charles-bukowski-73_loneliness_there-is-a-loneliness-in-this-world-so-g_668323.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/charles-bukowski-73_loneliness_there-is-a-loneliness-in-this-world-so-g_668323.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/charles-bukowski-73_loneliness_there-is-a-loneliness-in-this-world-so-g_668323.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“there is a loneliness in this world so great that you can see it in the slow movement of the hands of a…” — Charles Bukowski",
                "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": "Charles Bukowski",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“there is a loneliness in this...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-is-a-loneliness-in-this-world-so-great-that-you-can-see-it-in/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-is-a-loneliness-in-this-world-so-great-that-you-can-see-it-in/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
