--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...they were too young then to know what…" description: "\"“...they were too young then to know what they would ultimately need from a barren and heart-sore life...”\" — Frank O'Hara" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/frank-o-hara-6706_barren_they-were-too-young-then-to-know-what-th_1066078.png" --- # ...they were too young then to know what they would… ![“...they were too young then to know what they would ultimately need from a barren and heart-sore life...” quote by Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/frank-o-hara-6706_barren_they-were-too-young-then-to-know-what-th_1066078.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/frank-o-hara-6706_barren_they-were-too-young-then-to-know-what-th_1066078.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/frank-o-hara-6706_barren_they-were-too-young-then-to-know-what-th_1066078.png) > ““...they were too young then to know what they would ultimately need from a barren and heart-sore life...”” [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Youth often lacks the foresight to understand future needs, especially in harsh, emotionally barren circumstances. **In simple terms:** Young people miss future needs. Key Takeaway Cultivate long‑term awareness early. Themes youth future planning emotional scarcity Mood melancholic hopeful Type literary reflective When to use this quote - career planning - relationship building - mental health coping - creative projects Key Concepts existential longing growth resilience Questions to Reflect On - What needs are you overlooking now? - How can you prepare for emotional scarcity? A Different Perspective Youthful optimism can mask deeper needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“I did follow my heart, and I have a sore ass”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-james/i-did-follow-my-heart-and-i-have-a-sore-ass/) [E.L. 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I don't want to fall in love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-believe-in-love-not-anymore-ive-been-let-down-so-much-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All men who live only according to their five senses, and seek nothing beyond the gratification of their natural appetites for pleasure and reputation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/all-men-who-live-only-according-to-their-five-senses-and-seek-nothing/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Please don't settle for happiness. It's not good enough. Of course you deserve it, but if that's all you have in mind - happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/please-don-t-settle-for-happiness-it-s-not-good-enough-of-course-you/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [The apparition of an evil, sick unconscious wild city rose before me in visible semblance, and about the dead buildings in the barren air,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/the-apparition-of-an-evil-sick-unconscious-wild-city-rose-before-me/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [“Just when normal life felt almost possible--when the world held some kind of order, meaning, even loveliness (prismatic spray of light through an icicle;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/just-when-normal-life-felt-almost-possible-when-the-world-held-some/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) > [My icons do not raise up the blessed savior in elaborate cathedrals. They are constructed concentrations celebrating barren rooms. They bring a limited light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-flavin/my-icons-do-not-raise-up-the-blessed-savior-in-elaborate-cathedrals/) [Dan Flavin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-flavin/) > [T is liberty crowns Britannia's Isle, And makes her barren rocks and her bleak mountains smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/t-is-liberty-crowns-britannia-s-isle-and-makes-her-barren-rocks-and/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [You may boldly say, you did not plough Or trust the barren and ungrateful sands With the fruitful grain of your religious counsels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/you-may-boldly-say-you-did-not-plough-or-trust-the-barren-and/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [I stayed in L.A. long enough to get on my feet, and then I moved back to New York. The reason I moved here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-stayed-in-l-a-long-enough-to-get-on-my-feet-and-then-i-moved-back/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“This book is written in a barren period of loss with an attempt to move forward towards substance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phindiwe-nkosi/this-book-is-written-in-a-barren-period-of-loss-with-an-attempt-to/) [Phindiwe Nkosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phindiwe-nkosi/) ## More by Frank O'Hara > [“The stars blink like a hairnet that was dropped / on a seat and now it is lying in the alley behind / the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/the-stars-blink-like-a-hairnet-that-was-dropped-on-a-seat-and-now-it/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [“It's a bright summer day, and I want to be wanted more than anything else in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/it-s-a-bright-summer-day-and-i-want-to-be-wanted-more-than-anything/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [See how free we are! as a nation of persons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/see-how-free-we-are-as-a-nation-of-persons/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [I don't believe in god, so I don't have to make elaborately sounded structures. ... Pain always produces logic, which is very bad for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/i-don-t-believe-in-god-so-i-don-t-have-to-make-elaborately-sounded/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [it is hard to believe when I’m with you that there can be anything as still as solemn as unpleasantly definitive as statuary when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/it-is-hard-to-believe-when-i-m-with-you-that-there-can-be-anything-as/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [“I am moved by the multitudes of your intelligence and sometimes, returning, I become the sea— in love with your speed, your heaviness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/i-am-moved-by-the-multitudes-of-your-intelligence-and-sometimes/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [When I am feeling depressed and anxious sullen all you have to do is take off your clothes and all is wiped away revealing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/when-i-am-feeling-depressed-and-anxious-sullen-all-you-have-to-do-is/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [I don't ... like rhythm, assonance, all that stuff. You just go on your nerve. If someone's chasing you down the street with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/i-don-t-like-rhythm-assonance-all-that-stuff-you-just-go-on-your/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [“One need never leave the confines of New York to get all the greenery one wishes--I can't even enjoy a blade of grass unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/one-need-never-leave-the-confines-of-new-york-to-get-all-the-greenery/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [“Now That I Am in Madrid I Can Think " I think of you and the continents brilliant and arid and the slender heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/now-that-i-am-in-madrid-i-can-think-i-think-of-you-and-the-continents/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [Kerouac: You're ruining American poetry, O'Hara. O'Hara: That's more than you ever did for it, Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/kerouac-you-re-ruining-american-poetry-o-hara-o-hara-that-s-more-than/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [I am ashamed of my century, but I have to smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/i-am-ashamed-of-my-century-but-i-have-to-smile/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [I call to the spirits of other lands to make fecund my existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/i-call-to-the-spirits-of-other-lands-to-make-fecund-my-existence/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [...but it is good to be several floors up in the dead of night wondering whether you are any good or not and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/but-it-is-good-to-be-several-floors-up-in-the-dead-of-night-wondering/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [There were occasionally rifts in the cloud where the face of a woman appeared, frowning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/there-were-occasionally-rifts-in-the-cloud-where-the-face-of-a-woman/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) [Explore all 98 Frank O'Hara quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) ## More Barren quotes > [“This book is written in a barren period of loss with an attempt to move forward towards substance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phindiwe-nkosi/this-book-is-written-in-a-barren-period-of-loss-with-an-attempt-to/) [Phindiwe Nkosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phindiwe-nkosi/) > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [I stayed in L.A. long enough to get on my feet, and then I moved back to New York. The reason I moved here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-stayed-in-l-a-long-enough-to-get-on-my-feet-and-then-i-moved-back/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [You may boldly say, you did not plough Or trust the barren and ungrateful sands With the fruitful grain of your religious counsels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/you-may-boldly-say-you-did-not-plough-or-trust-the-barren-and/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [T is liberty crowns Britannia's Isle, And makes her barren rocks and her bleak mountains smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/t-is-liberty-crowns-britannia-s-isle-and-makes-her-barren-rocks-and/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [My icons do not raise up the blessed savior in elaborate cathedrals. They are constructed concentrations celebrating barren rooms. They bring a limited light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-flavin/my-icons-do-not-raise-up-the-blessed-savior-in-elaborate-cathedrals/) [Dan Flavin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-flavin/) > [“Just when normal life felt almost possible--when the world held some kind of order, meaning, even loveliness (prismatic spray of light through an icicle;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/just-when-normal-life-felt-almost-possible-when-the-world-held-some/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) > [The apparition of an evil, sick unconscious wild city rose before me in visible semblance, and about the dead buildings in the barren air,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/the-apparition-of-an-evil-sick-unconscious-wild-city-rose-before-me/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [Please don't settle for happiness. It's not good enough. Of course you deserve it, but if that's all you have in mind - happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/please-don-t-settle-for-happiness-it-s-not-good-enough-of-course-you/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [All men who live only according to their five senses, and seek nothing beyond the gratification of their natural appetites for pleasure and reputation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/all-men-who-live-only-according-to-their-five-senses-and-seek-nothing/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [I find the aesthetics of the 20th century hopelessly barren.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-find-the-aesthetics-of-the-20th-century-hopelessly-barren/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [Perseverance gives power to weakness, and opens to poverty the world's wealth. It spreads fertility over the barren landscape, and buds the choicest flowers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-griswold-goodrich/perseverance-gives-power-to-weakness-and-opens-to-poverty-the-world-s/) Samuel Griswold Goodrich > [“Life without love is nothing but a barren piece of land.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-ashok-anand/life-without-love-is-nothing-but-a-barren-piece-of-land/) [Dr. Ashok Anand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-ashok-anand/) > [Fruits fail and love dies and time ranges;Thou art fed with perpetual breath, and alive after infinite changes,And fresh from the kisses of death,Of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-charles-swinburne/fruits-fail-and-love-dies-and-time-ranges-thou-art-fed-with-perpetual/) [Algernon Charles Swinburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-charles-swinburne/) > [By the deficiency or absence of one necessary constituent, all the others being present, the soil is rendered barren for all those crops to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/by-the-deficiency-or-absence-of-one-necessary-constituent-all-the/) [Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) Browse all 324 Barren quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...they were too young then to know what they would ultimately need from a barren and heart-sore life...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frank O'Hara" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/they-were-too-young-then-to-know-what-they-would-ultimately-need-from/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Barren" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/they-were-too-young-then-to-know-what-they-would-ultimately-need-from/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/frank-o-hara-6706_barren_they-were-too-young-then-to-know-what-th_1066078.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/frank-o-hara-6706_barren_they-were-too-young-then-to-know-what-th_1066078.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/frank-o-hara-6706_barren_they-were-too-young-then-to-know-what-th_1066078.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...they were too young then to know what they would ultimately need from a barren and heart-sore life...” — Frank O'Hara", "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": "Frank O'Hara", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...they were too young then to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/they-were-too-young-then-to-know-what-they-would-ultimately-need-from/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/they-were-too-young-then-to-know-what-they-would-ultimately-need-from/#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 } } ] } ```