--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are but skin about a wind, with…" description: "\"“We are but skin about a wind, with muscles clenched against mortality. We sleep in a long reproachful dust against ourselves. We are full to the gorge..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54b/djuna-barnes-3957_death_we-are-but-skin-about-a-wind-with-muscle_1286053.jpg" --- # We are but skin about a wind, with muscles clenched… ![“We are but skin about a wind, with muscles clenched against mortality. We sleep in a long reproachful dust against ourselves. We are full to the gorge with our own names for misery. Life, the pastures in which the night feeds and prunes the cud that nourishes us to despair. Life, the permission to…” quote by Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54b/djuna-barnes-3957_death_we-are-but-skin-about-a-wind-with-muscle_1286053.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54b/djuna-barnes-3957_death_we-are-but-skin-about-a-wind-with-muscle_1286053.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54b/djuna-barnes-3957_death_we-are-but-skin-about-a-wind-with-muscle_1286053.jpg) > ““We are but skin about a wind, with muscles clenched against mortality. We sleep in a long reproachful dust against ourselves. We are full to the gorge with our own names for misery. Life, the pastures in which the night feeds and prunes the cud that nourishes us to despair. Life, the permission to know death. We were created that the earth might be made sensible of her inhuman taste; and love that the body might be so dear that even the earth should roar with it. Yes, we who are full to the gorge with misery should look well around, doubting everything seen, done, spoken, precisely because we have a word for it, and not its alchemy.”” [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage reflects on human fragility, mortality, and the paradox of finding meaning through suffering and love, urging skepticism toward accepted truths. **In simple terms:** Human life is fragile, suffering can reveal meaning, and love makes existence profound. Key Takeaway Embrace doubt, seek depth beyond surface. Themes mortality existentialism love skepticism Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - grief counseling - artistic creation - philosophical debate - personal reflection Key Concepts nihilism human condition transcendence Questions to Reflect On - How does acknowledging mortality change your priorities? - What role does love play in confronting suffering? A Different Perspective The poetic language may obscure practical guidance for everyday decisions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Despair Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair-life-1088903/) [Gorge Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gorge-misery-4173183/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) [Misery Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery-life-2281286/) ## Related quotes > [Yes, we who are full to the gorge with misery should look well around, doubting everything seen, done, spoken, precisely because we have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/yes-we-who-are-full-to-the-gorge-with-misery-should-look-well-around/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [I would have been in mortal misery all my life for fear my wife might say, 'That's a pretty little thing,' after I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/i-would-have-been-in-mortal-misery-all-my-life-for-fear-my-wife-might/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [those who despair of life are not long for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/those-who-despair-of-life-are-not-long-for-it/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [There is not love of life without despair about life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/there-is-not-love-of-life-without-despair-about-life/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“If you are not on your path of purpose, you will only have misery in your life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/if-you-are-not-on-your-path-of-purpose-you-will-only-have-misery-in/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [We never change. Neither our socks nor our masters nor our opinions, or we're so slow about it that it's no use. We were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/we-never-change-neither-our-socks-nor-our-masters-nor-our-opinions-or-2/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“And then he felt the misery of his life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-somerset-maugham/and-then-he-felt-the-misery-of-his-life/) [William Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-somerset-maugham/) > [Has realized that we must endure misery in life in order to really truly appreciate the good & enjoy life's simple pleasures! :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/has-realized-that-we-must-endure-misery-in-life-in-order-to-really/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never be invisible to a person who you care for or you will be left all alone in the misery of life as invisible..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/never-be-invisible-to-a-person-who-you-care-for-or-you-will-be-left/) [Unkown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unkown/) > [Do not despair of life. You have no doubt force enough to overcome your obstacles. Think of the fox prowling through wood and field…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/do-not-despair-of-life-you-have-no-doubt-force-enough-to-overcome/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Do not despair of life. Think of the fox, prowling in a winter night to satisfy his hunger. His race survives; I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/do-not-despair-of-life-think-of-the-fox-prowling-in-a-winter-night-to/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Do not despair of your life. You have force enough to overcome your obstacles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/do-not-despair-of-your-life-you-have-force-enough-to-overcome-your/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What moments of despair that life would ever be made precious to me by the consciousness that I lived to some good purpose! It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/what-moments-of-despair-that-life-would-ever-be-made-precious-to-me/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [There is no love of life without despair of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/there-is-no-love-of-life-without-despair-of-life/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [This can't last. This misery can't last. I must remember that and try to control myself. Nothing lasts really. Neither happiness nor despair. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celia-johnson/this-can-t-last-this-misery-can-t-last-i-must-remember-that-and-try/) [Celia Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celia-johnson/) ## More by Djuna Barnes > [“There goes the dismantled—Love has fallen off her wall. A religious woman,” he thought to himself, “without the joy and safety of the Catholic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/there-goes-the-dismantled-love-has-fallen-off-her-wall-a-religious/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [Of course I think of the past and of Paris, what else is there to remember?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/of-course-i-think-of-the-past-and-of-paris-what-else-is-there-to/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [A strong sense of identity gives man an idea he can do no wrong; too little accomplishes the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/a-strong-sense-of-identity-gives-man-an-idea-he-can-do-no-wrong-too/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [My war brought me many things; let yours bring you as much. Life is not to be told, call it as loud as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/my-war-brought-me-many-things-let-yours-bring-you-as-much-life-is-not/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [When one wants to become cognizant of the color and the texture of the soil, one does not get a ladder; one gets a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/when-one-wants-to-become-cognizant-of-the-color-and-the-texture-of/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [I can draw and write, and you'd be foolish not to hire me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/i-can-draw-and-write-and-you-d-be-foolish-not-to-hire-me/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [“The perfume that her body exhaled was of the quality of that earth-flesh, fungi, which smells of captured dampness and yet is so dry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/the-perfume-that-her-body-exhaled-was-of-the-quality-of-that-earth/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [God,' she cried, 'what is love? Man seeking his own head? The human head, so rented by misery that even the teeth weigh! She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/god-she-cried-what-is-love-man-seeking-his-own-head-the-human-head-so/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [Suffering for love is how I have learned practically everything I know, love of grandmother up and on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/suffering-for-love-is-how-i-have-learned-practically-everything-i/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [“No man need curing of his individual sickness; his universal malady is what he should look to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/no-man-need-curing-of-his-individual-sickness-his-universal-malady-is/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [When autumn shadows throw their patterns across the land, they are not the images of fragile, dying leaves, not the bared arms of lofty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/when-autumn-shadows-throw-their-patterns-across-the-land-they-are-not/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [Our bones ache only while the flesh is on them. Stretch it as thin as the temple flesh of an ailing woman and still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/our-bones-ache-only-while-the-flesh-is-on-them-stretch-it-as-thin-as/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [“I tell you, Madame, if one gave birth to a heart on a plate, it would say “Love” and twitch like the lopped leg…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/i-tell-you-madame-if-one-gave-birth-to-a-heart-on-a-plate-it-would/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [“Those who turn the day into night, the young, the drug addict, the profligate, the drunken and that most miserable, the lover who watches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/those-who-turn-the-day-into-night-the-young-the-drug-addict-the/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [I couldn't ever boil potatoes over the heat of your affection. Your love would never bridge a gap; it wouldn't even fill up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/i-couldn-t-ever-boil-potatoes-over-the-heat-of-your-affection-your/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) [Explore all 116 Djuna Barnes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-powers/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We are but skin about a wind, with muscles clenched against mortality. We sleep in a long reproachful dust against ourselves. We are full to the gorge with our own names for misery. Life, the pastures in which the night feeds and prunes the cud that nourishes us to despair. Life, the permission to know death. We were created that the earth might be made sensible of her inhuman taste; and love that the body might be so dear that even the earth should roar with it. Yes, we who are full to the gorge with misery should look well around, doubting everything seen, done, spoken, precisely because we have a word for it, and not its alchemy.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Djuna Barnes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/we-are-but-skin-about-a-wind-with-muscles-clenched-against-mortality/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/we-are-but-skin-about-a-wind-with-muscles-clenched-against-mortality/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54b/djuna-barnes-3957_death_we-are-but-skin-about-a-wind-with-muscle_1286053.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54b/djuna-barnes-3957_death_we-are-but-skin-about-a-wind-with-muscle_1286053.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54b/djuna-barnes-3957_death_we-are-but-skin-about-a-wind-with-muscle_1286053.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are but skin about a wind, with muscles clenched against mortality. We sleep in a long reproachful dust…” — Djuna Barnes", "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": "Djuna Barnes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We are but skin about a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/we-are-but-skin-about-a-wind-with-muscles-clenched-against-mortality/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/we-are-but-skin-about-a-wind-with-muscles-clenched-against-mortality/#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 } } ] } ```