--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I walked far down a dirt side road and…" description: "\"“I walked far down a dirt side road and into a farmer's field - some sort of cereal that was chest high and corn green and rustled as its blades inflic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/douglas-coupland-305_darkness_i-walked-far-down-a-dirt-side-road-and-i_2545669.jpg" --- # I walked far down a dirt side road and into a farmer's… ![“I walked far down a dirt side road and into a farmer's field - some sort of cereal that was chest high and corn green and rustled as its blades inflicted small paper burns on my skin as I walked through them. And in that field, when the appointed hour, minute, and second of the darkness came, I…” quote by Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/douglas-coupland-305_darkness_i-walked-far-down-a-dirt-side-road-and-i_2545669.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/douglas-coupland-305_darkness_i-walked-far-down-a-dirt-side-road-and-i_2545669.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/douglas-coupland-305_darkness_i-walked-far-down-a-dirt-side-road-and-i_2545669.jpg) > ““I walked far down a dirt side road and into a farmer's field - some sort of cereal that was chest high and corn green and rustled as its blades inflicted small paper burns on my skin as I walked through them. And in that field, when the appointed hour, minute, and second of the darkness came, I lay myself down on the ground, surrounded by the tall pithy grain stalks and the faint sound of insects, and held my breath, there experiencing a mood that I have never really been able to shake completely - a mood of darkness and inevitability and facination - a mood that surely must have been held by most young people since the dawn of time as they have crooked their necks, stared at the heavens, and watched their sky go out.”” [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator describes a profound, timeless feeling of darkness and inevitability experienced in a grain field at dusk, reflecting on youthful awe of the cosmos. **In simple terms:** A deep, unshakable mood of darkness and wonder in a field. Key Takeaway Embrace moments that connect you to timeless awe. Themes nature existentialism youth solitude Mood reflective melancholic contemplative Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - camping under stars - late‑night walks in fields - reflective journaling - meditative pauses Key Concepts transcendence inevitability cosmic perspective Questions to Reflect On - What personal experiences evoke a similar sense of awe? - How can you cultivate such depth in everyday life? A Different Perspective The feeling may be romanticized and not universally accessible. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Young people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-people/) ## Related quotes > [“There was a hole in his chest where his mood should have been, and the darkness was slowly settling in on his brain, or-..…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raven-elliot-o-connor/there-was-a-hole-in-his-chest-where-his-mood-should-have-been-and-the/) Raven Elliot O'Connor > [“Darkness came like a black flag waved over the canyon, drawing back the grayness from the shores of the city, then pushing forward the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/darkness-came-like-a-black-flag-waved-over-the-canyon-drawing-back/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“O Lord, we’ve erred!’\* He sighed with heart aflame, ‘We lost the way as soon as darkness came!’ So destiny can block the sun’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jalaluddin-rumi/o-lord-we-ve-erred-he-sighed-with-heart-aflame-we-lost-the-way-as/) [Jalaluddin Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jalaluddin-rumi/) > [And out of darkness came the hands that reach thro' nature, moulding men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/and-out-of-darkness-came-the-hands-that-reach-thro-nature-moulding-men/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [“In that darkness, the Others came riding, she used to say, dropping her voice lower and lower. Cold and dead they were, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/in-that-darkness-the-others-came-riding-she-used-to-say-dropping-her/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [And out of darkness came the hands that reach through nature, moulding men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/and-out-of-darkness-came-the-hands-that-reach-through-nature-moulding/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [“When the darkness came for Dottie, it was quick and it was total.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/when-the-darkness-came-for-dottie-it-was-quick-and-it-was-total/) [Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/) > [“Let's just stand still. Maybe whoever it is won't notice us. It's dark out anyway." Both boys knew it could just be someone from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadie-gray/let-s-just-stand-still-maybe-whoever-it-is-won-t-notice-us-it-s-dark/) Sadie Gray > [“Now goes under, and I watch it go under, the sun That will not rise again. Today has seen the setting, in your eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/now-goes-under-and-i-watch-it-go-under-the-sun-that-will-not-rise/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [“I had time to understand this, before the darkness came to collect me. I had time to understand that I had won, that even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/i-had-time-to-understand-this-before-the-darkness-came-to-collect-me/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“Old Nan nodded. ‘In that darkness, the Others came for the first time,’ she said as her needles went click, click, click. ‘They were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/old-nan-nodded-in-that-darkness-the-others-came-for-the-first-time/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [Everybody's darkness is different. My darkness came from my mom having pancreatitis and almost dyin'. And what I noticed was that the darkness ain't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tech-n9ne/everybody-s-darkness-is-different-my-darkness-came-from-my-mom-having/) [Tech N9ne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tech-n9ne/) > [“Shadows   The shadows looming in the corners wore colors similar to bruises. No way of knowing when the darkness would end. Heart racing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennae-cecelia/shadows-the-shadows-looming-in-the-corners-wore-colors-similar-to/) [Jennae Cecelia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennae-cecelia/) > [The night crept on apace, the moon went down, the stars grew pale and dim, and morning, cold as they, slowly approached. Then, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-night-crept-on-apace-the-moon-went-down-the-stars-grew-pale-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“But when I looked for good, evil came; and when I waited for light, darkness came. My lyre is turned to mourning, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wiess/but-when-i-looked-for-good-evil-came-and-when-i-waited-for-light/) [Laura Wiess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wiess/) ## More by Douglas Coupland > [And in your new lives you'll have to live entirely for that one sensation-that of imminent truth. And you're going to have to holler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/and-in-your-new-lives-you-ll-have-to-live-entirely-for-that-one/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [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/) > [The future and eternity are two entirely different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/the-future-and-eternity-are-two-entirely-different-things/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Do you remember how you felt at seventeen? I do and I don't (...) Imagine you came from outer space and someone showed you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/do-you-remember-how-you-felt-at-seventeen-i-do-and-i-don-t-imagine/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [You can't fake competence, creativity, or sexual arousal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/you-can-t-fake-competence-creativity-or-sexual-arousal/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“But Dag, for all of his efforts, might as well have been talking to a cat. Our parents’ generation seems neither able nor interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/but-dag-for-all-of-his-efforts-might-as-well-have-been-talking-to-a/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Negative? Moi? I think realistic might be a better word. You mean to tell me we can drive all the way here from L.A.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/negative-moi-i-think-realistic-might-be-a-better-word-you-mean-to/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [It was pivotal in making you but you don't remember it. Or do you? Do we understand the events that make us who we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/it-was-pivotal-in-making-you-but-you-don-t-remember-it-or-do-you-do/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Your ability to rationalize your own bad deeds makes you believe that the whole world is as amoral as you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/your-ability-to-rationalize-your-own-bad-deeds-makes-you-believe-that/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“I like to go beach-combing, and I like to find interestingly shaped rocks. When I really get into the groove I start finding beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-like-to-go-beach-combing-and-i-like-to-find-interestingly-shaped/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“You know, Dag and Claire smile a lot, as do many people I know. But I always wondered if there is something either mechanical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/you-know-dag-and-claire-smile-a-lot-as-do-many-people-i-know-but-i/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Brain research tells us that only twenty percent of human beings have a sense of irony, which means that eighty percent of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/brain-research-tells-us-that-only-twenty-percent-of-human-beings-have/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [I keep vampire hours, going to bed at 2 A.M. and waking up at about 10:30-11 A.M.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-keep-vampire-hours-going-to-bed-at-2-a-m-and-waking-up-at-about-10/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Anna-Louise leans over and whispers in my ear. "This is so surreal," she says, "I think I'm turning into a melting clock.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/anna-louise-leans-over-and-whispers-in-my-ear-this-is-so-surreal-she/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [When you grow up these days, you're told you're going to have four or five different careers during your lifetime. But what they don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/when-you-grow-up-these-days-you-re-told-you-re-going-to-have-four-or/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) [Explore all 704 Douglas Coupland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? The question was soft- tentative. I knew who he meant. I interlaced my fingers through Rhysand's and squeezed tightly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/what-does-he-look-like-the-question-was-soft-tentative-i-knew-who-he/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [“Life is like coffee, the darker it gets, the more it energizes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankita-singhal/life-is-like-coffee-the-darker-it-gets-the-more-it-energizes/) [Ankita Singhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankita-singhal/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) Nicole Gentile [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I walked far down a dirt side road and into a farmer's field - some sort of cereal that was chest high and corn green and rustled as its blades inflicted small paper burns on my skin as I walked through them. 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