--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Years after I'd seen him for the last…" description: "\"Years after I'd seen him for the last time I found myself thinking of him unexpectedly and often. You know how certain places grow powerful in the mind..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/234/don-delillo-294_bed_years-after-i-d-seen-him-for-the-last-ti_2666868.jpg" --- # Years after I'd seen him for the last time I found myself… ![“Years after I'd seen him for the last time I found myself thinking of him unexpectedly and often. You know how certain places grow powerful in the mind with passing time. In those early morning dreams when I come back to bed after a sleepy pee and fall quickly into the narrow end of the night…” quote by Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/234/don-delillo-294_bed_years-after-i-d-seen-him-for-the-last-ti_2666868.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/234/don-delillo-294_bed_years-after-i-d-seen-him-for-the-last-ti_2666868.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/234/don-delillo-294_bed_years-after-i-d-seen-him-for-the-last-ti_2666868.jpg) > “Years after I'd seen him for the last time I found myself thinking of him unexpectedly and often. You know how certain places grow powerful in the mind with passing time. In those early morning dreams when I come back to bed after a sleepy pee and fall quickly into the narrow end of the night, there is one set of streets I keep returning to, one dim mist of railroad rooms and certain figures reappear, borderline ghosts.” [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memory resurfaces places and people unexpectedly, especially in quiet, reflective moments. **In simple terms:** Memories return unexpectedly in quiet moments. Key Takeaway Allow space for reflection on past connections. Themes memory place nostalgia reflection dreams Mood melancholic contemplative Type literary reflective When to use this quote - late night thoughts - early morning routines - creative writing - personal introspection Key Concepts psychology temporal perception urban landscape Questions to Reflect On - What places trigger your strongest memories? - How do these memories affect your present decisions? A Different Perspective Memories may be idealized, not fully accurate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bed/) [Borderline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borderline/) [Borderline Ghosts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borderline-ghosts-2472661/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Early morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early-morning/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Figures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/figures/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost/) [Ghosts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghosts/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Last time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-time/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mist/) [Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning/) [Morning Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning-dreams-1340188/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Passing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passing/) [Passing Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passing-time/) [Passings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passings/) [Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Railroads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/railroads/) [Reappear Borderline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reappear-borderline-2472660/) [Rooms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooms/) [Sleepy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleepy/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [Oft morning dreams presage approaching fate, For morning dreams, as poets tell, are true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bruce/oft-morning-dreams-presage-approaching-fate-for-morning-dreams-as/) [Michael Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bruce/) > [Oft morning-dreams presage approaching fate; And morning -dreams, as poets tell, are true, Led by pale ghosts, I enter Death's dark gate, And bid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bruce/oft-morning-dreams-presage-approaching-fate-and-morning-dreams-as/) [Michael Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bruce/) > [As I awaken each morning, my dreams of you fade as thoughts of you flood my mind with sensual assault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-i-awaken-each-morning-my-dreams-of-you-fade-as-thoughts-of-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“At some point, during the early hours of the morning, the dreams found their way in. they were dark dreams, treacherous, submerging Violet in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-derting/at-some-point-during-the-early-hours-of-the-morning-the-dreams-found/) [kimberly Derting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-derting/) > [If we fix a goal and work towards it, then we are never just passing time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-neagle/if-we-fix-a-goal-and-work-towards-it-then-we-are-never-just-passing/) [Anna Neagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-neagle/) > [Our lives a series of defining moments, strung together by passing time. Surrender fully to this moment, because it is not the moment...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-lives-a-series-of-defining-moments-strung-together-by-passing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is not just the passing of time. Life is the collection of experiences and their intensity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/life-is-not-just-the-passing-of-time-life-is-the-collection-of/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [“The West Indian is not exactly hostile to change, but he is not much inclined to believe in it. This comes from a piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-wouk/the-west-indian-is-not-exactly-hostile-to-change-but-he-is-not-much/) [Herman Wouk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-wouk/) > [That's mostly what the Internet is, just passing the time. But unfortunately you are dealing with words that can have meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/that-s-mostly-what-the-internet-is-just-passing-the-time-but/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [“There’s an air of things closing down. Teachers wear shorts and T-shirts to class. They show movies while they clean out their desks. Nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/there-s-an-air-of-things-closing-down-teachers-wear-shorts-and-t/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [“Convert every passing time of your life before it melts away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/convert-every-passing-time-of-your-life-before-it-melts-away/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“I allowed my mind to wander. I’ve found this to be a very effective way of passing the time; you take a situation or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/i-allowed-my-mind-to-wander-i-ve-found-this-to-be-a-very-effective/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [“You must arrest every passing time and convert it into growing your knowledge and prowess in that chosen field of influence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-must-arrest-every-passing-time-and-convert-it-into-growing-your/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“Sleep was a vehicle for passing the time, for avoiding the present. It was a trolley for the depressed, the impatient, and the dying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/sleep-was-a-vehicle-for-passing-the-time-for-avoiding-the-present-it/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“Take hold of your passing time and convert it into living your dreams. Only then can you truly fulfill the great destiny that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/take-hold-of-your-passing-time-and-convert-it-into-living-your-dreams/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) ## More by Don DeLillo > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“As I listened I thought a featureless baggy man was striking me in slow motion with a well-polished stone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/as-i-listened-i-thought-a-featureless-baggy-man-was-striking-me-in/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Murray said, 'I don't trust anybody's nostalgia but my own. Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“She is beginning to think it is possible that all creation is a spurt of blank matter that chances to make an emerald planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/she-is-beginning-to-think-it-is-possible-that-all-creation-is-a-spurt/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Those who have abandoned belief must still believe in us. They are sure that they are right not to believe but they know belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/those-who-have-abandoned-belief-must-still-believe-in-us-they-are/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“The plane had lost power in all three engines, dropped from thirty-four thousand feet to twelve thousand feet. Something like four miles. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-plane-had-lost-power-in-all-three-engines-dropped-from-thirty/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Grass: I live in a great steel tower that reflects the blazing sun. People catch fire just walking by. The more bodies that pile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/grass-i-live-in-a-great-steel-tower-that-reflects-the-blazing-sun/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“What people discard could make a nation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-people-discard-could-make-a-nation/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Marriage is something we make from available materials. In this sense it’s improvised, it’s almost offhand. Maybe this is why we know so little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/marriage-is-something-we-make-from-available-materials-in-this-sense/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The true life is not reducible to words spoken or written, not by anyone, ever. The true life takes place when we're alone, thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-true-life-is-not-reducible-to-words-spoken-or-written-not-by/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [I've come to think of Europe as a hardcover book, America as the paperback version.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-ve-come-to-think-of-europe-as-a-hardcover-book-america-as-the/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [There is a set of balances and rhythms to a novel that we can't experience in real life. So I think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-a-set-of-balances-and-rhythms-to-a-novel-that-we-can-t/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“There is no lie in war or preparation of war that can't be defended. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-no-lie-in-war-or-preparation-of-war-that-can-t-be-defended/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) [Explore all 699 Don DeLillo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## More Bed quotes > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [Your idea of fidelity is not having more than one man in bed at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-raphael/your-idea-of-fidelity-is-not-having-more-than-one-man-in-bed-at-the/) [Frederic Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-raphael/) > [The beginning of love is all about the butterflies, but the end of it is when you can't get out of bed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/the-beginning-of-love-is-all-about-the-butterflies-but-the-end-of-it/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wish I had as much in bed as I get in the newspapers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ronstadt/i-wish-i-had-as-much-in-bed-as-i-get-in-the-newspapers/) [Linda Ronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ronstadt/) > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [“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/) > [It wasn't really touching to be young; it was touching not to be young, because you had less of life left. Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [I have to meditate before I go to bed, always. I have to let the day go and let the eternal in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bellamy-young/i-have-to-meditate-before-i-go-to-bed-always-i-have-to-let-the-day-go/) [Bellamy Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bellamy-young/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I think life is full of challenges and problems. I don't believe that anyone is perfect. We all make mistakes. It's not a bed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-mansell/i-think-life-is-full-of-challenges-and-problems-i-don-t-believe-that/) [Nigel Mansell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-mansell/) > [When I saw him I thought I could curl up inside him and go to sleep and never wake up." "Men are no good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/when-i-saw-him-i-thought-i-could-curl-up-inside-him-and-go-to-sleep/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [I always wanted to be a movie star. I thought it meant being famous and having breakfast in bed. I didn't know you had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-allyson/i-always-wanted-to-be-a-movie-star-i-thought-it-meant-being-famous/) [June Allyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-allyson/) [Browse all 4,159 Bed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Years after I'd seen him for the last time I found myself thinking of him unexpectedly and often. You know how certain places grow powerful in the mind with passing time. 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