--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The truth is dark under your eyelids…" description: "\"“The truth is dark under your eyelids. What are you going to do about it? The birds are silent; there's no one to ask. All day long you'll squint at th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/charles-simic-9906_bare-branches_the-truth-is-dark-under-your-eyelids-wha_404887.png" --- # The truth is dark under your eyelids. What are you going… ![“The truth is dark under your eyelids. What are you going to do about it? The birds are silent; there's no one to ask. All day long you'll squint at the gray sky. When the wind blows you'll shiver like straw. A meek little lamb you grew your wool Till they came after you with huge shears. Flies…” quote by Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/charles-simic-9906_bare-branches_the-truth-is-dark-under-your-eyelids-wha_404887.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/charles-simic-9906_bare-branches_the-truth-is-dark-under-your-eyelids-wha_404887.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/charles-simic-9906_bare-branches_the-truth-is-dark-under-your-eyelids-wha_404887.png) > ““The truth is dark under your eyelids. What are you going to do about it? The birds are silent; there's no one to ask. All day long you'll squint at the gray sky. When the wind blows you'll shiver like straw. A meek little lamb you grew your wool Till they came after you with huge shears. Flies hovered over open mouth, Then they, too, flew off like the leaves, The bare branches reached after them in vain. Winter coming. Like the last heroic soldier Of a defeated army, you'll stay at your post, Head bared to the first snow flake. Till a neighbor comes to yell at you, You're crazier than the weather, Charlie.”” [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) ## 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 portrays a bleak, oppressive atmosphere where silence and fear dominate, urging the reader to confront hidden truths despite overwhelming darkness. **In simple terms:** Confront hidden darkness despite fear. Key Takeaway Face truth even when it feels oppressive. Themes existential dread silence truth resilience Mood somber introspective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - mental health challenges - artistic creation - social isolation Key Concepts nihilism psychological struggle metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What truths are you avoiding? - How can you find light in oppressive moments? A Different Perspective The abstract imagery may alienate readers seeking concrete guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bare branches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bare-branches/) [First snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-snow/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winter/) ## Related quotes > [“The stark gray sky and bare tree limbs feel more suited to her than the uncomplicated promise of sunny spring days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-baker-kline/the-stark-gray-sky-and-bare-tree-limbs-feel-more-suited-to-her-than/) [Christina Baker Kline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-baker-kline/) > [“The fog, which Meg knew from her father wasn’t fog at all, but low-lying clouds, began to burn off as the morning sun continued…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-ewens/the-fog-which-meg-knew-from-her-father-wasn-t-fog-at-all-but-low/) [Tracy Ewens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-ewens/) > [“As he stood there the cloudy day darkened even more, the air felt heavier, the gunmetal gray sky suddenly hung low and oppressive, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-greaney/as-he-stood-there-the-cloudy-day-darkened-even-more-the-air-felt/) [Mark Greaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-greaney/) > [ Winter came and the city \[Chicago\] turned monochrome -- black trees against gray sky above white earth. Night now fell in midafternoon, especially when… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/winter-came-and-the-city-chicago-turned-monochrome-black-trees/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“This is not a story for the faint of heart; this is the story of one woman's very real struggle through a world against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-l-jennings/this-is-not-a-story-for-the-faint-of-heart-this-is-the-story-of-one/) [S.L. Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-l-jennings/) > [The enormous lake stretched flat and smooth and white all the way to the edge of the gray sky. Wagon tracks went away across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingalls-wilder/the-enormous-lake-stretched-flat-and-smooth-and-white-all-the-way-to/) [Laura Ingalls Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingalls-wilder/) > [His beauty did not blaze like Will's did in fierce colors and repressed fire, but it had its own muted perfection, the loveliness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/his-beauty-did-not-blaze-like-will-s-did-in-fierce-colors-and/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“She was rain to a parched desert She was color to a gray sky She was the beautiful butterfly you longed to possess But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/she-was-rain-to-a-parched-desert-she-was-color-to-a-gray-sky-she-was/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) > [Stepped out into the cold, collar high, under the slate gray sky. The air was smoking and the streets were dry, and I wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/stepped-out-into-the-cold-collar-high-under-the-slate-gray-sky-the/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [“Clinging to the rags I had left, I gazed out upon the full breadth of the Furnace and shook at what I saw. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-heffner/clinging-to-the-rags-i-had-left-i-gazed-out-upon-the-full-breadth-of/) [Heather Heffner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-heffner/) > [“White-crested waves crash on the shore. The masts sway violently, every which way. In the gray sky the gulls are circling like white flakes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/white-crested-waves-crash-on-the-shore-the-masts-sway-violently-every/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“She ran to the window and nearly ripped the curtains from their hangings as she opened them to the gray mountains and bleakness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/she-ran-to-the-window-and-nearly-ripped-the-curtains-from-their/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“It came very fast and the sun went a dull yellow and then everything was gray and the sky was covered and the cloud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-came-very-fast-and-the-sun-went-a-dull-yellow-and-then-everything/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“It was a day like a slow-motion video of twilight. Uneventful, to put it mildly. The lead gray of the sky mixed ever so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/it-was-a-day-like-a-slow-motion-video-of-twilight-uneventful-to-put/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Everything surrounding the ship is gray or dark blue and nothing is particularly hip, and once or maybe twice a day this thin strip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/everything-surrounding-the-ship-is-gray-or-dark-blue-and-nothing-is/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) ## More by Charles Simic > [“Lyric poets are always corrupting the young, making them choke in self-pity and indulge in reverie. Dirty sex and direspect for authority is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/lyric-poets-are-always-corrupting-the-young-making-them-choke-in-self/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [“There’s a book called “A Dictionary of Angels.” No one has opened it in fifty years, I know, because when I did, The covers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/there-s-a-book-called-a-dictionary-of-angels-no-one-has-opened-it-in/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [Poetry is an orphan of silence. The words never quite equal the experience behind them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/poetry-is-an-orphan-of-silence-the-words-never-quite-equal-the/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [Wanted: a needle swift enough to sew this poem into a blanket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/wanted-a-needle-swift-enough-to-sew-this-poem-into-a-blanket/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [In their effort to divorce language and experience, deconstructionist critics remind me of middle-class parents who do not allow their children to play in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/in-their-effort-to-divorce-language-and-experience-deconstructionist/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [“The ambition of much of today's literary theory seems to be to find ways to read literature without imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/the-ambition-of-much-of-today-s-literary-theory-seems-to-be-to-find/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [Poems are other people's snapshots in which we see our own lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/poems-are-other-people-s-snapshots-in-which-we-see-our-own-lives/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [“The Something" Here come my night thoughts On crutches, Returning from studying the heavens. What they thought about Stayed the same, Stayed immense and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/the-something-here-come-my-night-thoughts-on-crutches-returning-from/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [There are knives that glitter like altars In a dark church Where they bring the cripple and the imbecile To be healed. There's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/there-are-knives-that-glitter-like-altars-in-a-dark-church-where-they/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [“هندوانه بودای سبز بر پیشخوان میوه فروش لبخندش را گاز میزنیم و دندانهایش را تف میکنیم :: Watermelons Green Buddhas On the fruit stand. We eat the smile And spit out the teeth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/watermelons-green-buddhas-on-the-fruit-stand-we-eat-the-smile-and/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [Words make love on the page like flies in the summer heat and the poet is only the bemused spectator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/words-make-love-on-the-page-like-flies-in-the-summer-heat-and-the/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [“The idea is to spin the wheel of metaphors and images until sparks of associations begin to fly for the reader.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/the-idea-is-to-spin-the-wheel-of-metaphors-and-images-until-sparks-of/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [Found objects, chance creations, ready-mades (mass-produced items promoted into art objects, such as Duchamp's "Fountain"-urinal as sculpture) abolish the separation between art and life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/found-objects-chance-creations-ready-mades-mass-produced-items/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [The plain truth is we are going to die. Here I am, a teeny spec surrounded by boundless space and time, arguing with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/the-plain-truth-is-we-are-going-to-die-here-i-am-a-teeny-spec/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [“On this Very Street in Belgrade" Your mother carried you Out of the smoking ruins of a building And set you down on this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/on-this-very-street-in-belgrade-your-mother-carried-you-out-of-the/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) [Explore all 69 Charles Simic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) ## More Bare branches quotes > [Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee, Whether the summer clothe the general earth With greenness, or the redbreast sit and sing Betwixt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/therefore-all-seasons-shall-be-sweet-to-thee-whether-the-summer/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [“A spring sun was shining on the rue St. Honore, as I ran down the church steps. On one corner stood a barrow full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-w-chambers/a-spring-sun-was-shining-on-the-rue-st-honore-as-i-ran-down-the/) [Robert W. Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-w-chambers/) > [Enormous morning, ponderous, meticulous; gray light streaking each bare branch, each single twig, along one side, making another tree, of glassy veins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/enormous-morning-ponderous-meticulous-gray-light-streaking-each-bare/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [“Willow trees dipped their bare branches into pond water like girls testing the temperature with their toes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/willow-trees-dipped-their-bare-branches-into-pond-water-like-girls/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“He had done nothing on Christmas day, just wandered around outside in the frozen woods. Hard ground, chill winds and bare branches that looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-ronald/he-had-done-nothing-on-christmas-day-just-wandered-around-outside-in/) [R.D. Ronald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-ronald/) > [There is lace in every living thing: the bare branches of winter, the patterns of clouds, the surface of water as it ripples in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brunonia-barry/there-is-lace-in-every-living-thing-the-bare-branches-of-winter-the/) [Brunonia Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brunonia-barry/) > [“Then, without really realizing it, I start to think of one thing I did wrong for each tree I look at. Wide oak -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-lacour/then-without-really-realizing-it-i-start-to-think-of-one-thing-i-did/) [Nina LaCour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-lacour/) > [“Gods? There is but one God now, child, and I am no more than a wind through bare branches.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/gods-there-is-but-one-god-now-child-and-i-am-no-more-than-a-wind/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [“She was too thin, her face all sharp bones and pale skin, tinged blue from lack of sunlight. Ugly, like him. Her eyes were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-bachmann/she-was-too-thin-her-face-all-sharp-bones-and-pale-skin-tinged-blue/) [Stefan Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-bachmann/) > [“Perhaps the House had heard Harvey wishing for a full moon, because when he and Wendell traipsed upstairs and looked out the landing window,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/perhaps-the-house-had-heard-harvey-wishing-for-a-full-moon-because/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Fate. As a child, that word was often my only companion. It whispered to me from dark corners during lonely nights. It was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslye-walton/fate-as-a-child-that-word-was-often-my-only-companion-it-whispered-to/) [Leslye Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslye-walton/) > [“A man doesn't have time in his life to have time for everything. He doesn't have seasons enough to have a season for every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehuda-amichai/a-man-doesn-t-have-time-in-his-life-to-have-time-for-everything-he/) [Yehuda Amichai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehuda-amichai/) > [“We are more than our feelings. Feelings are like leaves and flowers on the tree of our being. They are the first to dance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manjul-bajaj/we-are-more-than-our-feelings-feelings-are-like-leaves-and-flowers-on/) [Manjul Bajaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manjul-bajaj/) > [“The Metal Element represents people who respect, treasure, and conserve precious items, like rare metals, gems, or jars of jam. Let’s calm ourselves down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leta-herman/the-metal-element-represents-people-who-respect-treasure-and-conserve/) Leta Herman > [“A Short Testament Whatever harm I may have done In all my life in all your wide creation If I cannot repair it I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-porter/a-short-testament-whatever-harm-i-may-have-done-in-all-my-life-in-all/) Anne Porter [Browse all 35 Bare branches quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bare-branches/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The truth is dark under your eyelids. What are you going to do about it? The birds are silent; there's no one to ask. All day long you'll squint at the gray sky. When the wind blows you'll shiver like straw. A meek little lamb you grew your wool Till they came after you with huge shears. Flies hovered over open mouth, Then they, too, flew off like the leaves, The bare branches reached after them in vain. Winter coming. Like the last heroic soldier Of a defeated army, you'll stay at your post, Head bared to the first snow flake. Till a neighbor comes to yell at you, You're crazier than the weather, Charlie.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Simic" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/the-truth-is-dark-under-your-eyelids-what-are-you-going-to-do-about/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bare branches" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/the-truth-is-dark-under-your-eyelids-what-are-you-going-to-do-about/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/charles-simic-9906_bare-branches_the-truth-is-dark-under-your-eyelids-wha_404887.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/charles-simic-9906_bare-branches_the-truth-is-dark-under-your-eyelids-wha_404887.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/charles-simic-9906_bare-branches_the-truth-is-dark-under-your-eyelids-wha_404887.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The truth is dark under your eyelids. What are you going to do about it? The birds are silent; there's no…” — Charles Simic", "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 Simic", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The truth is dark under your...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/the-truth-is-dark-under-your-eyelids-what-are-you-going-to-do-about/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/the-truth-is-dark-under-your-eyelids-what-are-you-going-to-do-about/#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 } } ] } ```