--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I, too, often shrivel the grey…" description: "\"I, too, often shrivel the grey shreds,Sniff them and think and sniff again and tryOnce more to think what it is I am remembering,Always in vain. I cann..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c02/edward-thomas-23008_bitter_i-too-often-shrivel-the-grey-shreds-snif_1384684.jpg" --- # I, too, often shrivel the grey shreds,Sniff them and think… ![“I, too, often shrivel the grey shreds,Sniff them and think and sniff again and tryOnce more to think what it is I am remembering,Always in vain. I cannot like the scent,Yet I would rather give up others more sweet,With no meaning, than this bitter one.” quote by Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c02/edward-thomas-23008_bitter_i-too-often-shrivel-the-grey-shreds-snif_1384684.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c02/edward-thomas-23008_bitter_i-too-often-shrivel-the-grey-shreds-snif_1384684.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c02/edward-thomas-23008_bitter_i-too-often-shrivel-the-grey-shreds-snif_1384684.jpg) > “I, too, often shrivel the grey shreds,Sniff them and think and sniff again and tryOnce more to think what it is I am remembering,Always in vain. I cannot like the scent,Yet I would rather give up others more sweet,With no meaning, than this bitter one.” [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker struggles to recall a bitter memory, preferring it over sweeter but meaningless experiences. **In simple terms:** Bitter memories linger more than pleasant ones. Key Takeaway Embrace the truth of painful recollections. Themes memory reflection pain meaning choice Mood melancholic contemplative Type literary reflective When to use this quote - personal journaling - therapy sessions - creative writing - grief counseling Key Concepts nostalgia cognitive dissonance sensory perception Questions to Reflect On - What does the bitter scent symbolize for you? - How can confronting unpleasant memories shape identity? A Different Perspective The bitter memory may be a false or distorted recollection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grey/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain/) ## Related quotes > [“Smell is such a powerful sense; capable of bringing memory to the mind more powerfully than sight or sound. There is nothing that can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/smell-is-such-a-powerful-sense-capable-of-bringing-memory-to-the-mind/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is strange how deeply colours seem to penetrate one, like scent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-is-strange-how-deeply-colours-seem-to-penetrate-one-like-scent/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [I think allure is something around you, like a perfume or like a scent. It's like a memory ... it pervades.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-vreeland/i-think-allure-is-something-around-you-like-a-perfume-or-like-a-scent/) [Diana Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-vreeland/) > [“I like it more to come to a place like this, where the scent of death is carried to you on every seventh breath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendare-blake/i-like-it-more-to-come-to-a-place-like-this-where-the-scent-of-death/) [Kendare Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendare-blake/) > [We shall take great care not to annoy the horse and spoil his friendly charm, for it is like the scent of a blossom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-pluvinel/we-shall-take-great-care-not-to-annoy-the-horse-and-spoil-his/) Antoine de Pluvinel > [A woman's walk is like her scent, it can tell you a lot about her](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-minagar/a-woman-s-walk-is-like-her-scent-it-can-tell-you-a-lot-about-her/) [Melody Minagar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-minagar/) > [There is something about the aroma of fresh books that's totally intoxicating. A new book has a certain clean, crisp smell full of promise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-ginsberg/there-is-something-about-the-aroma-of-fresh-books-that-s-totally/) [Debra Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-ginsberg/) > [“I don't like musty smells. I much prefer less definitive fragrances, like the scent of maybe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-don-t-like-musty-smells-i-much-prefer-less-definitive-fragrances/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I truly do feel like scent can change your mood and the feeling in a room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tish-cyrus/i-truly-do-feel-like-scent-can-change-your-mood-and-the-feeling-in-a/) [Tish Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tish-cyrus/) > [“May your love for me be like the scent of the evening sea drifting in through a quiet window so i do not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanober-khan/may-your-love-for-me-be-like-the-scent-of-the-evening-sea-drifting-in/) [Sanober Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanober-khan/) > [If only there could be an invention that bottled up a memory, like scent. And it never faded, and it never got stale. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/if-only-there-could-be-an-invention-that-bottled-up-a-memory-like/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“The word love has always tasted like the scent of fresh ink and soft paper to me. Like a newly written poem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-hart/the-word-love-has-always-tasted-like-the-scent-of-fresh-ink-and-soft/) [Megan Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-hart/) > [To-day I think Only with scents, - scents dead leaves yield, And bracken, and wild carrot's seed, And the square mustard field; Odours that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/to-day-i-think-only-with-scents-scents-dead-leaves-yield-and-bracken/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [“The star we're looking for isn't so very friendly," said Moomintroll. "Quite the contrary, in fact." "What did you say?" said Sniff. Moomintroll went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/the-star-we-re-looking-for-isn-t-so-very-friendly-said-moomintroll/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) > [Sam reached his hand toward mine and I automatically put my fingers in his. With a guilty little smile he pulled my hand toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/sam-reached-his-hand-toward-mine-and-i-automatically-put-my-fingers/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) ## More by Edward Thomas > [A merely great intellect can produce prose, but not poetry, not one line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/a-merely-great-intellect-can-produce-prose-but-not-poetry-not-one-line/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [If I should ever by chance grow richI'll buy Codham, Cockridden, and Childerditch,Roses, Pyrgo, and Lapwater,And let them all to my eldest daughter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/if-i-should-ever-by-chance-grow-richi-ll-buy-codham-cockridden-and/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [To-day I think Only with scents, - scents dead leaves yield, And bracken, and wild carrot's seed, And the square mustard field; Odours that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/to-day-i-think-only-with-scents-scents-dead-leaves-yield-and-bracken/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [I like to think how easily Nature will absorb London as she absorbed the mastodon, setting her spiders to spin the winding-sheet and her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/i-like-to-think-how-easily-nature-will-absorb-london-as-she-absorbed/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [ “If he \[Pound\] is not careful he will take to meaning what he says instead of saying what he means.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/if-he-pound-is-not-careful-he-will-take-to-meaning-what-he-says/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [“Tall Nettles Tall nettles cover up, as they have done These many springs, the rusty harrow, the plough Long worn out, and the roller…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/tall-nettles-tall-nettles-cover-up-as-they-have-done-these-many/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [“You English words? I know you: You are light as dreams, Tough as oak, Precious as gold, As poppies and corn, Or an old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/you-english-words-i-know-you-you-are-light-as-dreams-tough-as-oak/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [How nice it would be to be dead if only we could know we were dead. That is what I hate, the not being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/how-nice-it-would-be-to-be-dead-if-only-we-could-know-we-were-dead/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [“Rain, midnight rain, nothing but the wild rain On this bleak hut, and solitude, and me Remembering again that I shall die And neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/rain-midnight-rain-nothing-but-the-wild-rain-on-this-bleak-hut-and/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [Yes; I remember Adlestrop- The name, because one afternoon Of heat the express-train drew up there Unwontedly. It was late June.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/yes-i-remember-adlestrop-the-name-because-one-afternoon-of-heat-the/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [Over the land freckled with snow half-thawed The speculating rooks at their nests cawed And saw from elm tops, delicate as flower of grass,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/over-the-land-freckled-with-snow-half-thawed-the-speculating-rooks-at/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [“This ploughman dead in battle slept out of doors Many a frozen night, and merrily Answered staid drinkers, good bedmen, and all bores: "At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/this-ploughman-dead-in-battle-slept-out-of-doors-many-a-frozen-night/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [I built myself a house of glass:It took me years to make it:And I was proud. But now, alas!Would God someone would break it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/i-built-myself-a-house-of-glass-it-took-me-years-to-make-it-and-i-was/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [Making war or rebellion is messy, like eating soup off a knife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/making-war-or-rebellion-is-messy-like-eating-soup-off-a-knife/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [“You cannot make chicken salad out of Chicken shit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/you-cannot-make-chicken-salad-out-of-chicken-shit/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) [Explore all 26 Edward Thomas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) ## More Bitter quotes > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Troy was a sweet, good man. We just were never destined to be married. We just didn't have the same values. But I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-pleshette/troy-was-a-sweet-good-man-we-just-were-never-destined-to-be-married/) [Suzanne Pleshette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-pleshette/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [One may have been a fool, but there's no foolishness like being bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/one-may-have-been-a-fool-but-there-s-no-foolishness-like-being-bitter/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [“I doubt taking in a sullen, bitter, teenage girl with more issues than National Geographic is at the center of the vision board for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katja-millay/i-doubt-taking-in-a-sullen-bitter-teenage-girl-with-more-issues-than/) [Katja Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katja-millay/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Life is too bitter already, without territories and wars and noble feuds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-too-bitter-already-without-territories-and-wars-and-noble/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With every interview you feel like you lose a piece of yourself, and with every bad review you become just that little bit more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-march/with-every-interview-you-feel-like-you-lose-a-piece-of-yourself-and/) [Jane March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-march/) > [“Without the bitter, the sweet ain’t as sweet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-the-bitter-the-sweet-ain-t-as-sweet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I refuse to be one of those artists who, 10 years from now, they're bitter about the rise and the fall of their career.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/i-refuse-to-be-one-of-those-artists-who-10-years-from-now-they-re/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [“In these days in which we live, when existence has become a thing of infinite complexity and fate, if it slips us a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/in-these-days-in-which-we-live-when-existence-has-become-a-thing-of/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [If a sudden jar can cause me to speak an impatient, unloving word, then I know nothing of Calvary love. For a cup brimful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-carmichael/if-a-sudden-jar-can-cause-me-to-speak-an-impatient-unloving-word-then/) [Amy Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-carmichael/) Browse all 1,923 Bitter quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I, too, often shrivel the grey shreds,Sniff them and think and sniff again and tryOnce more to think what it is I am remembering,Always in vain. 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