--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If passion was a substance I would say it…" description: "\"“If passion was a substance I would say it is dark brown, and then blood red. It's like wet grass, tons of it soaked in mud. It's warm and it stinks li..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e0/eileen-myles-21151_deep_if-passion-was-a-substance-i-would-say-i_1155563.jpg" --- # If passion was a substance I would say it is dark brown… ![“If passion was a substance I would say it is dark brown, and then blood red. It's like wet grass, tons of it soaked in mud. It's warm and it stinks like shit and it's unaccountably and endlessly good. It's thick and it goes on for miles and it isn't so much deep as bottomless and it holds you in…” quote by Eileen Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e0/eileen-myles-21151_deep_if-passion-was-a-substance-i-would-say-i_1155563.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e0/eileen-myles-21151_deep_if-passion-was-a-substance-i-would-say-i_1155563.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e0/eileen-myles-21151_deep_if-passion-was-a-substance-i-would-say-i_1155563.jpg) > ““If passion was a substance I would say it is dark brown, and then blood red. It's like wet grass, tons of it soaked in mud. It's warm and it stinks like shit and it's unaccountably and endlessly good. It's thick and it goes on for miles and it isn't so much deep as bottomless and it holds you in its grip, you never drown. And then it goes. That's all you know.”” [Eileen Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-myles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Passion is an overwhelming, messy, and intoxicating force that both sustains and consumes, offering endless pleasure despite its grime and danger. **In simple terms:** Passion is powerful, messy, and addictive. Key Takeaway Embrace intensity, but stay aware of its cost. Themes passion intensity addiction raw emotion Mood intense conflicted raw Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - creative work - intimate relationships - personal crisis - artistic inspiration Key Concepts existentialism sensory experience psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does your passion demand of you? - How do you balance its allure with its risks? A Different Perspective Passion can blind judgment and lead to self‑destruction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotions/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Inferno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inferno/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [The first year of marriage is like wet cement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wolgemuth/the-first-year-of-marriage-is-like-wet-cement/) Robert Wolgemuth > [I like it wet and hard, up and down!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-smith-nuneaton/i-like-it-wet-and-hard-up-and-down/) Declan Smith Nuneaton > [“Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression. —Haim Ginott”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marti-olsen-laney/children-are-like-wet-cement-whatever-falls-on-them-makes-an/) [Marti Olsen Laney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marti-olsen-laney/) > [“And is that what love looks like -- all wet mouths and your skirt rucked up?" "Sometimes it is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/and-is-that-what-love-looks-like-all-wet-mouths-and-your-skirt-rucked/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“People are like wet fabrics: You can never know their true color unless you squeeze them dry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-ryan-claudio/people-are-like-wet-fabrics-you-can-never-know-their-true-color/) Elmer Ryan Claudio > [Creative people are like a wet towel You wring them out and pick up another one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-revson/creative-people-are-like-a-wet-towel-you-wring-them-out-and-pick-up/) [Charles Revson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-revson/) > [“You’re cute when you’re pissed. Kind of like a wet kitten. Gets me hard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-wylde/you-re-cute-when-you-re-pissed-kind-of-like-a-wet-kitten-gets-me-hard/) [Joanna Wylde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-wylde/) > [“My penis is like a wet noodle, only not as thick. Or tasty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/my-penis-is-like-a-wet-noodle-only-not-as-thick-or-tasty/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [People who wear fur smell like a wet dog if they're in the rain. And they look fat and gross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-anderson/people-who-wear-fur-smell-like-a-wet-dog-if-they-re-in-the-rain-and/) [Pamela Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-anderson/) > [“I got a feeling this whole thing is going to come apart like wet bread.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/i-got-a-feeling-this-whole-thing-is-going-to-come-apart-like-wet-bread/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [“And is that what love looks like - all wet mouth sand your skirt rucked up?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/and-is-that-what-love-looks-like-all-wet-mouth-sand-your-skirt-rucked/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“She was warm and smelt like a wet sparrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-sapkowski/she-was-warm-and-smelt-like-a-wet-sparrow/) [Andrzej Sapkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-sapkowski/) > [“She’d never been any kind of camper, never had been good at relieving a full bladder on a whim. Never had quite figured out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-carr/she-d-never-been-any-kind-of-camper-never-had-been-good-at-relieving/) [Robyn Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-carr/) > [I feel like a wet seed wild in the hot blind earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-feel-like-a-wet-seed-wild-in-the-hot-blind-earth/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Looks like we’re about to get wet,” I said, stating the obvious. He laughed. “I don’t care.” He grabbed me by the waist and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lacey-weatherford/looks-like-we-re-about-to-get-wet-i-said-stating-the-obvious-he/) [Lacey Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lacey-weatherford/) ## More by Eileen Myles > [Poetry is my politics. It's an opportunity that gives me a way to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/poetry-is-my-politics-it-s-an-opportunity-that-gives-me-a-way-to-speak/) [Eileen Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-myles/) > [Women aren't physically afraid of men; women are genetically afraid of men. It's happened for such a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/women-aren-t-physically-afraid-of-men-women-are-genetically-afraid-of/) [Eileen Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-myles/) > [I hate the word mentor, the professionalization of friendships between generations. I just feel like the fact of friendship is the thing we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/i-hate-the-word-mentor-the-professionalization-of-friendships-between/) [Eileen Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-myles/) > [I think poets are supposed to be writing for television and film. I grew up in the day of early TV that was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/i-think-poets-are-supposed-to-be-writing-for-television-and-film-i/) [Eileen Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-myles/) > [Listen, I have been educated. I have learned about Western Civilization. Do you know What the message of Western Civilization is? I am alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/listen-i-have-been-educated-i-have-learned-about-western-civilization/) [Eileen Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-myles/) > [Part of the glamour of being a poet was always this long reach into the future. You knew you were managing time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/part-of-the-glamour-of-being-a-poet-was-always-this-long-reach-into/) [Eileen Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-myles/) > [Time passes. That's for sure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/time-passes-that-s-for-sure/) [Eileen Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-myles/) > [I really just love reading. It's my favorite thing, performing my poems live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/i-really-just-love-reading-it-s-my-favorite-thing-performing-my-poems/) [Eileen Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-myles/) > [“All the details of my life were in exact order and yet I was tumbling in them-out of order like a tremendous wave had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/all-the-details-of-my-life-were-in-exact-order-and-yet-i-was-tumbling/) [Eileen Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-myles/) > [Urban nature is like living with mass conditions. It sometimes feels like a myth & you are its scribe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/urban-nature-is-like-living-with-mass-conditions-it-sometimes-feels/) [Eileen Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-myles/) > [“On The Death of Robert Lowell by Eileen Myles O, I don’t give a shit. He was an old white haired man Insensate beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/on-the-death-of-robert-lowell-by-eileen-myles-o-i-don-t-give-a-shit/) [Eileen Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-myles/) > [I hope you all find yourselves sleeping with someone you love, maybe not all of the time, but a lot of the time. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/i-hope-you-all-find-yourselves-sleeping-with-someone-you-love-maybe/) [Eileen Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-myles/) > [I'm a poet born in the era of Andy Warhol and a generation that wanted to be famous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/i-m-a-poet-born-in-the-era-of-andy-warhol-and-a-generation-that/) [Eileen Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-myles/) > [People love discovering you. The thing about not being historically a mainstream writer is that everyone feels like you're theirs, you're their friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/people-love-discovering-you-the-thing-about-not-being-historically-a/) [Eileen Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-myles/) > [People loved to talk about how Frank O'Hara didn't really care about getting published. That doesn't jibe with my experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/people-loved-to-talk-about-how-frank-o-hara-didn-t-really-care-about/) [Eileen Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-myles/) [Explore all 29 Eileen Myles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-myles/) ## More Deep quotes > [There is no precedent of an advanced economy withdrawing from a trade agreement as deep and as complex as the European Union.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-johnson/there-is-no-precedent-of-an-advanced-economy-withdrawing-from-a-trade/) [Jo Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-johnson/) > [I'm just going to express my opinion and try to change the way people think with the stuff I write or try to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-curry/i-m-just-going-to-express-my-opinion-and-try-to-change-the-way-people/) [Denzel Curry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-curry/) > [I don't feel I have to write deep and meaningful songs; they can be light and meaningless. It has to do with the place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-diamond/i-don-t-feel-i-have-to-write-deep-and-meaningful-songs-they-can-be/) [Neil Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-diamond/) > [From time to time I look at the picture when I am very sad. I just want to remember my past and that scene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phan-thi-kim-phuc/from-time-to-time-i-look-at-the-picture-when-i-am-very-sad-i-just/) [Phan Thi Kim Phuc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phan-thi-kim-phuc/) > [“Haunted by the longing to feel something real, deep and magical; I searched for a shared ecstasy... that's when you came along.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebo-grand/haunted-by-the-longing-to-feel-something-real-deep-and-magical-i/) [Lebo Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebo-grand/) > [And I always think of life like a giant wave. You know, it rises and it crests and it flies, and it's just magnificent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-seymour/and-i-always-think-of-life-like-a-giant-wave-you-know-it-rises-and-it/) [Jane Seymour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-seymour/) > [Extremist perspectives win sympathy and recruits because they offer narratives that claim to identify deep injustices and enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-gahr-store/extremist-perspectives-win-sympathy-and-recruits-because-they-offer/) [Jonas Gahr Store](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-gahr-store/) > [I want to have a lengthy career. I want to play interesting characters. I want to tell beautiful stories, complex stories, deep stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jovan-adepo/i-want-to-have-a-lengthy-career-i-want-to-play-interesting-characters/) [Jovan Adepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jovan-adepo/) > [We all have love hidden deep inside us. It just takes that special person to look hard enough to find it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-all-have-love-hidden-deep-inside-us-it-just-takes-that-special/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [They say a picture paints a thousand words. Well I say my eyes will tell you everything you need to know. Can you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemis-khan/they-say-a-picture-paints-a-thousand-words-well-i-say-my-eyes-will/) [Kemis Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemis-khan/) > [I had a brilliant relationship with Thomas Tuchel. We spoke a lot, not only on the surface, but really deep about football and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-farke/i-had-a-brilliant-relationship-with-thomas-tuchel-we-spoke-a-lot-not/) [Daniel Farke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-farke/) > [I want to go deep into fashion; I want to go maybe into acting. There's a lot of stuff I would like to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-peep/i-want-to-go-deep-into-fashion-i-want-to-go-maybe-into-acting-there-s/) [Lil Peep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-peep/) > [The personal, if it is deep enough, becomes universal, mythical, symbolic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-personal-if-it-is-deep-enough-becomes-universal-mythical-symbolic/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [It's fun, and a laugh for you... you can boo me and feel happy about yourself because you're part of the crowd that did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-goodes/it-s-fun-and-a-laugh-for-you-you-can-boo-me-and-feel-happy-about/) [Adam Goodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-goodes/) > [We should bathe our spirits in the deep, pure feeling that stirs within us when we gaze on the glories of His creation. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/we-should-bathe-our-spirits-in-the-deep-pure-feeling-that-stirs/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) Browse all 3,514 Deep quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If passion was a substance I would say it is dark brown, and then blood red. It's like wet grass, tons of it soaked in mud. It's warm and it stinks like shit and it's unaccountably and endlessly good. It's thick and it goes on for miles and it isn't so much deep as bottomless and it holds you in its grip, you never drown. And then it goes. That's all you know.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eileen Myles" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/if-passion-was-a-substance-i-would-say-it-is-dark-brown-and-then/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Deep" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/if-passion-was-a-substance-i-would-say-it-is-dark-brown-and-then/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e0/eileen-myles-21151_deep_if-passion-was-a-substance-i-would-say-i_1155563.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e0/eileen-myles-21151_deep_if-passion-was-a-substance-i-would-say-i_1155563.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e0/eileen-myles-21151_deep_if-passion-was-a-substance-i-would-say-i_1155563.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If passion was a substance I would say it is dark brown, and then blood red. It's like wet grass, tons of it…” — Eileen Myles", "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": "Eileen Myles", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-myles/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If passion was a substance I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/if-passion-was-a-substance-i-would-say-it-is-dark-brown-and-then/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-myles/if-passion-was-a-substance-i-would-say-it-is-dark-brown-and-then/#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 } } ] } ```