--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wish, I wish I were a poisonous…" description: "\"I wish, I wish I were a poisonous bacterium.\" — Dorothy Parker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/dorothy-parker-700_bacteria_i-wish-i-wish-i-were-a-poisonous-bacteri_1036270.jpg" --- # I wish, I wish I were a poisonous bacterium. ![“I wish, I wish I were a poisonous bacterium.” quote by Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/dorothy-parker-700_bacteria_i-wish-i-wish-i-were-a-poisonous-bacteri_1036270.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/dorothy-parker-700_bacteria_i-wish-i-wish-i-were-a-poisonous-bacteri_1036270.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/dorothy-parker-700_bacteria_i-wish-i-wish-i-were-a-poisonous-bacteri_1036270.jpg) > “I wish, I wish I were a poisonous bacterium.” [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She envies the destructive power of a bacterium, reflecting deep personal despair. **In simple terms:** She wishes to be a harmful bacterium. Key Takeaway Recognize and seek help for suicidal thoughts. Themes despair mental health loneliness Mood somber urgent Type literary emotional When to use this quote - counseling sessions - support groups - creative writing therapy Key Concepts Existential angst self‑destruction Questions to Reflect On - What underlying pain fuels this wish? - How can you find purpose beyond despair? A Different Perspective Romanticizing death avoids confronting pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bacteria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [One bacterium has 2,000 to 6,000 proteins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-a-offit/one-bacterium-has-2-000-to-6-000-proteins/) [Paul A. Offit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-a-offit/) > [“Nothing is more conservative than a bacterium.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/nothing-is-more-conservative-than-a-bacterium/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [You can find bacteria everywhere. They're invisible to us. I've never seen a bacterium, except under a microscope. They're so small, we don't see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/you-can-find-bacteria-everywhere-they-re-invisible-to-us-i-ve-never/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [If there be any who nurture in their hearts the poisonous brew of enmity toward another, I plead with you to ask the Lord…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/if-there-be-any-who-nurture-in-their-hearts-the-poisonous-brew-of/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [Amphibians are dying out like crazy, and frogs and salamanders may be largely extinct by the end of the twenty-first century. Imagine an animal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annalee-newitz/amphibians-are-dying-out-like-crazy-and-frogs-and-salamanders-may-be/) [Annalee Newitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annalee-newitz/) > [There's more to someone being lovable than the way they look." "...he told me that the way you can tell if a bug or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/there-s-more-to-someone-being-lovable-than-the-way-they-look-he-told/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [It was Rachel Carson's famous book 'Silent Spring' that got me involved with the environment. I read it in The New Yorker, in installments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/it-was-rachel-carson-s-famous-book-silent-spring-that-got-me-involved/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [“The really pure in heart know nothing of what goes on around them each day, each night; never realize what poisonous weeds spring up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-mauriac/the-really-pure-in-heart-know-nothing-of-what-goes-on-around-them/) [François Mauriac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-mauriac/) > [Nice creepy reptile,” Frank said, very aware of the driftwood in his coat pocket. “Nice poisonous, fire-breathing reptile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/nice-creepy-reptile-frank-said-very-aware-of-the-driftwood-in-his/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Let me explain: there are dragons, and then there are drakons. Drakons are several millennia older than dragons, andmuch larger. They look like giant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/let-me-explain-there-are-dragons-and-then-there-are-drakons-drakons/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“All things are poison and nothing is without poison. Only the dose determines whether something is poisonous or not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-owen/all-things-are-poison-and-nothing-is-without-poison-only-the-dose/) [Joanne Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-owen/) > [Even as a kid, I was a businessman. I figured out that if you plucked all the berries off my neighbor's tree and smashed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-devine/even-as-a-kid-i-was-a-businessman-i-figured-out-that-if-you-plucked/) [Adam DeVine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-devine/) > [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“There is no substance which is not a poison; all are poisonous. Only the dose determines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippus-theophrastus/there-is-no-substance-which-is-not-a-poison-all-are-poisonous-only/) Philippus Theophrastus > [You know how they say the grass is always greener on the other side? It is greener, because you're not there. And if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ekaterina-sedia/you-know-how-they-say-the-grass-is-always-greener-on-the-other-side/) [Ekaterina Sedia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ekaterina-sedia/) ## More by Dorothy Parker > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Writing is the art of applying the ass to the seat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/writing-is-the-art-of-applying-the-ass-to-the-seat/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Hollywood is the one place on earth where you could die of encouragement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/hollywood-is-the-one-place-on-earth-where-you-could-die-of/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [“The two most beautiful words in the English language are 'check enclosed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-two-most-beautiful-words-in-the-english-language-are-check/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Sometimes I think Ill give up trying, and just go completely Russian and sit on a stove and moan all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/sometimes-i-think-ill-give-up-trying-and-just-go-completely-russian/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [I was always sweet, at first. Oh, it's so easy to be sweet to people before you love them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/i-was-always-sweet-at-first-oh-it-s-so-easy-to-be-sweet-to-people/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Now to me, Edith looks like something that would eat her young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/now-to-me-edith-looks-like-something-that-would-eat-her-young/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Misfortune, and recited misfortune especially, can be prolonged to the point where it ceases to excite pity and arouses only irritation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/misfortune-and-recited-misfortune-especially-can-be-prolonged-to-the/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [The sun's gone dim, and the moon's gone black. For I loved him, and he didn't love back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-sun-s-gone-dim-and-the-moon-s-gone-black-for-i-loved-him-and-he/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [There's a hell of a distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-a-hell-of-a-distance-between-wisecracking-and-wit-wit-has/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song, A medley of extemporanea; And love is a thing that can never go wrong; And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/oh-life-is-a-glorious-cycle-of-song-a-medley-of-extemporanea-and-love/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Enjoyed it! One more drink and I'd have been under the host.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/enjoyed-it-one-more-drink-and-i-d-have-been-under-the-host/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [This living, this living, this living Was never a project of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/this-living-this-living-this-living-was-never-a-project-of-mine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Flowers are heaven's masterpiece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/flowers-are-heaven-s-masterpiece/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [It costs me never a stab nor squirm / To tread by chance upon a worm. / Aha, my little dear, / I say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/it-costs-me-never-a-stab-nor-squirm-to-tread-by-chance-upon-a-worm/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) [Explore all 398 Dorothy Parker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) ## More Bacteria quotes > [“Bacteria and viruses were the most effective allies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-hughes-galeano/bacteria-and-viruses-were-the-most-effective-allies/) [Eduardo Hughes Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-hughes-galeano/) > [...The large majority of those infectious microbes that cause us so much illness and pain are ANAEROBIC...a big word that means they live and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-mccabe/the-large-majority-of-those-infectious-microbes-that-cause-us-so-much/) [Ed McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-mccabe/) > [You can't just boss bacteria around like that," said the younger Mrs. Hempstock. "They don't like it." "Stuff and silliness," said the old lady.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-t-just-boss-bacteria-around-like-that-said-the-younger-mrs/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are more microbes per person than the entire population of the world. Imagine that. Per person. This means that if the time scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/there-are-more-microbes-per-person-than-the-entire-population-of-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“Drinking lots of alcohol makes the gut leakier, allowing microbes to more readily influence the brain. Could that help to explain why alcoholics often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/drinking-lots-of-alcohol-makes-the-gut-leakier-allowing-microbes-to/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“According to pioneering microbiologist Lynn Margulis, "fully 10 percent of our own dry body weight consists of bacteria, some of which, although they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-bjornerud/according-to-pioneering-microbiologist-lynn-margulis-fully-10-percent/) Marcia Bjornerud > [Plants with leaves no more efficient than today's solar cells could out-compete real plants, crowding the biosphere with an inedible foliage. Tough omnivorous bacteria…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-eric-drexler/plants-with-leaves-no-more-efficient-than-today-s-solar-cells-could/) [K. Eric Drexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-eric-drexler/) > [Nineteen hundred and three will bring great advances in surgery, in the study of bacteria, in the knowledge of the cause and prevention of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/nineteen-hundred-and-three-will-bring-great-advances-in-surgery-in/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/most-people-are-surprised-when-they-hear-my-somber-figures-we-know-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Harmful bacteria, viruses, calcium-forming micro-organisms, and candida are part of our world. Unfortunately, so are toxic chemicals, including everything from pesticides to car pollution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wolfe/harmful-bacteria-viruses-calcium-forming-micro-organisms-and-candida/) [David Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wolfe/) > [With one linear centimeter of your lower colon there lives and works more bacteria (about 100 billion) that all humans who have ever been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/with-one-linear-centimeter-of-your-lower-colon-there-lives-and-works/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“Eighty-five percent of recorded species live in the terrestrial realm, and the majority of these, some 850,000, are arthropods (that is, insects, spiders, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-e-leakey/eighty-five-percent-of-recorded-species-live-in-the-terrestrial-realm/) Richard E. Leakey > [As far as I am concerned, LGBT can only stand for leprosy, gonorrhea, bacteria, and tuberculosis, all of which are detrimental to human existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahya-jammeh/as-far-as-i-am-concerned-lgbt-can-only-stand-for-leprosy-gonorrhea/) [Yahya Jammeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahya-jammeh/) > [There are about 250,000 different species of fossil plants and animals known . . In spite of this large quantity of information, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-raup/there-are-about-250-000-different-species-of-fossil-plants-and/) [David M. Raup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-raup/) > [Human health should now be thought of as a collective property of the human-associate d microbiota, as one group of researchers recently concluded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/human-health-should-now-be-thought-of-as-a-collective-property-of-the/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) [Browse all 285 Bacteria quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wish, I wish I were a poisonous bacterium.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dorothy Parker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/i-wish-i-wish-i-were-a-poisonous-bacterium/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bacteria" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/i-wish-i-wish-i-were-a-poisonous-bacterium/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/dorothy-parker-700_bacteria_i-wish-i-wish-i-were-a-poisonous-bacteri_1036270.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/dorothy-parker-700_bacteria_i-wish-i-wish-i-were-a-poisonous-bacteri_1036270.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/dorothy-parker-700_bacteria_i-wish-i-wish-i-were-a-poisonous-bacteri_1036270.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I wish, I wish I were a poisonous bacterium.” — Dorothy Parker", "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": "Dorothy Parker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I wish, I wish I were...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/i-wish-i-wish-i-were-a-poisonous-bacterium/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/i-wish-i-wish-i-were-a-poisonous-bacterium/#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 } } ] } ```