--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes driven aground by the photon…" description: "\"“Sometimes driven aground by the photon storms, by the swirling of the galaxies, clockwise and counterclockwise, ticking with light down the dark sea-c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/gene-wolfe-2530_astronomy_sometimes-driven-aground-by-the-photon-s_8223.jpg" --- # Sometimes driven aground by the photon storms, by the… ![“Sometimes driven aground by the photon storms, by the swirling of the galaxies, clockwise and counterclockwise, ticking with light down the dark sea-corridors lined with our silver sails, our demon-haunted sails, our hundred-league masts as fine as threads, as fine as silver needles sewing the…” quote by Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/gene-wolfe-2530_astronomy_sometimes-driven-aground-by-the-photon-s_8223.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/gene-wolfe-2530_astronomy_sometimes-driven-aground-by-the-photon-s_8223.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/gene-wolfe-2530_astronomy_sometimes-driven-aground-by-the-photon-s_8223.jpg) > ““Sometimes driven aground by the photon storms, by the swirling of the galaxies, clockwise and counterclockwise, ticking with light down the dark sea-corridors lined with our silver sails, our demon-haunted sails, our hundred-league masts as fine as threads, as fine as silver needles sewing the threads of starlight, embroidering the stars on black velvet, wet with the winds of Time that go racing by. The bone in her teeth! The spume, the flying spume of Time, cast up on these beaches where old sailors can no longer keep their bones from the restless, the unwearied universe. Where has she gone? My lady, the mate of my soul? Gone across the running tides of Aquarius, of Pisces, of Aries. Gone. Gone in her little boat, her nipples pressed against the black velvet lid, gone, sailing away forever from the star-washed shores, the dry shoals of the habitable worlds. She is her own ship, she is the figurehead of her own ship, and the captain. Bosun, Bosun, put out the launch! Sailmaker, make a sail! She has left us behind. We have left her behind. She is in the past we never knew and the future we will not see. Put out more sail, Captain for the universe is leaving us behind…”” [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A poetic meditation on humanity’s fleeting place in an ever‑expanding cosmos, using nautical imagery to convey loss, longing, and the inexorable flow of time. **In simple terms:** Life’s transience amid cosmic change. Key Takeaway We are passengers on a universe that moves beyond our grasp. Themes impermanence cosmic awe loneliness journey time mythic imagery Mood melancholic wonderful reflective Type poetic philosophical metaphorical When to use this quote - contemplating existential meaning - writing speculative fiction - discussing astrophysical metaphors - reflecting on personal loss - exploring mythic archetypes Key Concepts stellar navigation temporal flow identity loss Practical Applications - creative writing - philosophical essays Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to be a 'figurehead' of one's own destiny? - How does the metaphor of sailing illuminate our relationship with time? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Galaxies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/galaxies/) [Gone Sailing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone-sailing-338443/) [Sailing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sailing/) [Sailing Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sailing-away-278573/) [Sails Demon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sails-demon-338444/) [Silver Sails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silver-sails-338441/) [Threads Starlight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/threads-starlight-338442/) ## Related quotes > [Come, cuddle your head on my shoulder, dear, your head like the golden rod, and we will go sailing away from here to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/come-cuddle-your-head-on-my-shoulder-dear-your-head-like-the-golden/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Three fishers went sailing away to the west, Away to the west as the sun went down; Each thought on the woman who loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/three-fishers-went-sailing-away-to-the-west-away-to-the-west-as-the-2/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Three fishers went sailing away to the west,/ Away to the west as the sun went down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/three-fishers-went-sailing-away-to-the-west-away-to-the-west-as-the/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [I'm sailing away, set an open course for the virgin sea. For I've got to be free, free to face the life that's ahead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/styx/i-m-sailing-away-set-an-open-course-for-the-virgin-sea-for-i-ve-got/) [Styx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/styx/) > [“Let me inside your soul. Inside that abandoned paradise. And let me walk on that road to your heart. Let me see through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-vasu/let-me-inside-your-soul-inside-that-abandoned-paradise-and-let-me/) [Akshay Vasu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-vasu/) > [“And you " Galaxy ".. you rocked my world but remember, In times i become master of Galaxies and i know the secrets often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-layman/and-you-galaxy-you-rocked-my-world-but-remember-in-times-i-become/) [A Layman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-layman/) > [“...God daubs stars into galaxies with fiery paint - the same lacquer he uses upon your lips...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/god-daubs-stars-into-galaxies-with-fiery-paint-the-same-lacquer-he/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“Whoever looks into himself as into vast space and carries galaxies in himself, also knows how irregular all galaxies are; they lead into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/whoever-looks-into-himself-as-into-vast-space-and-carries-galaxies-in/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“If you cannot do it without money, its passion exists in unknown galaxies than earth's core.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goitsemang-mvula/if-you-cannot-do-it-without-money-its-passion-exists-in-unknown/) [Goitsemang Mvula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goitsemang-mvula/) > [“There’s as many atoms in a single molecule of your DNA as there are stars in the typical galaxy. We are, each of us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/there-s-as-many-atoms-in-a-single-molecule-of-your-dna-as-there-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Star Wars Galaxies' didn't ever explain itself to you. It was horribly broken; it was glitchy in several significant ways. It was just this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/porter-robinson/star-wars-galaxies-didn-t-ever-explain-itself-to-you-it-was-horribly/) [Porter Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/porter-robinson/) > [The stars begin to fade like guttering candles and are snuffed out one by one. Out in the depths of space the great celestial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-robert-harrison/the-stars-begin-to-fade-like-guttering-candles-and-are-snuffed-out/) [Edward Robert Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-robert-harrison/) > [It's everywhere, really. It's between the galaxies. It is in this room. We believe that everywhere that you have space, empty space, that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-riess/it-s-everywhere-really-it-s-between-the-galaxies-it-is-in-this-room/) [Adam Riess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-riess/) > [“We gave each other so much space that eventually there were a few galaxies between us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nitya-prakash/we-gave-each-other-so-much-space-that-eventually-there-were-a-few/) [Nitya Prakash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nitya-prakash/) > [My favorite galaxy of all is called the Sombrero, NGC 4594. It's an amazing galaxy that is really two galaxies in one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-faber/my-favorite-galaxy-of-all-is-called-the-sombrero-ngc-4594-it-s-an/) [Sandra Faber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-faber/) ## More by Gene Wolfe > [Some writers say they cannot write in front of a window; many say they cannot function without almost perfect quiet. A writer with only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/some-writers-say-they-cannot-write-in-front-of-a-window-many-say-they/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [Ambiguity is necessary in some of my stories, not in all. In those, it certainly contributes to the richness of the story. I doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/ambiguity-is-necessary-in-some-of-my-stories-not-in-all-in-those-it/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“There are beings—and artifacts—against which we batter our intelligence raw, and in the end make peace with reality only by saying, “It was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/there-are-beings-and-artifacts-against-which-we-batter-our/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [Science has so accustomed us to devising and accepting theories to account for the facts we observe, however fantastic, that our minds must begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/science-has-so-accustomed-us-to-devising-and-accepting-theories-to/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“The experienced feel love or desire, or both. The inexperienced are sick with a thousand feelings, most of them unformed: fearful that they may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/the-experienced-feel-love-or-desire-or-both-the-inexperienced-are/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“For those who have never attended a science fiction convention, masquerades are features of most of the larger ones. Awards are presented for best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/for-those-who-have-never-attended-a-science-fiction-convention/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“He had a wild yellow beard and long, tangled hair that stood out from his head in a way that made it seem too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/he-had-a-wild-yellow-beard-and-long-tangled-hair-that-stood-out-from/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [ ...in some situations winning consist\[s\] of disentangling oneself. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/in-some-situations-winning-consist-s-of-disentangling-oneself/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“For after all, if the lives of most men are examined in detail, it will be found that they have been experts of immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/for-after-all-if-the-lives-of-most-men-are-examined-in-detail-it-will/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [You never learn how to write a novel. You just learn how to write the novel that you're writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/you-never-learn-how-to-write-a-novel-you-just-learn-how-to-write-the/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [There is no magic. There is only knowledge, more or less hidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/there-is-no-magic-there-is-only-knowledge-more-or-less-hidden/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“...the progress of science depends much less upon either theoretical considerations or systematic investigation than is commonly believed, but rather on the transmittal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/the-progress-of-science-depends-much-less-upon-either-theoretical/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“Whatever we may say, all of us suffer from disturbed sleep at times. Some in truth hardly sleep, though some who sleep copiously swear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/whatever-we-may-say-all-of-us-suffer-from-disturbed-sleep-at-times/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“. . .Consciousness came and went. Consciousness went and came like the errant winds of spring, and I, who so often have had difficulty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/consciousness-came-and-went-consciousness-went-and-came-like-the/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“It seems to me that you can almost define civilization by saying it's people who are not willing to hurt other people because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/it-seems-to-me-that-you-can-almost-define-civilization-by-saying-it-s/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) [Explore all 160 Gene Wolfe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) ## More Astronomy quotes > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Wen daylight turns to a darkened hue, D lovely stars hinting at u, ur heart beat tells u something true, That some 1 badly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butterfly-kisses/wen-daylight-turns-to-a-darkened-hue-d-lovely-stars-hinting-at-u-ur/) [Butterfly\_Kisses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/butterfly-kisses/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Astronomers have built telescopes which can show myriads of stars unseen before; but when a man looks through a tear in his own eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/astronomers-have-built-telescopes-which-can-show-myriads-of-stars/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [From the grasses in the field to the stars in the sky, each one is doing just that; and there is such profound peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/from-the-grasses-in-the-field-to-the-stars-in-the-sky-each-one-is/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“Sentinels of trees breathe life into bodies of earthly flesh As their mighty arms reach to the stars we join in their quest for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/sentinels-of-trees-breathe-life-into-bodies-of-earthly-flesh-as-their/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [“If there are no stars on the sky, you must try to be happy with the shining streetlights!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-there-are-no-stars-on-the-sky-you-must-try-to-be-happy-with-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. 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Even if you miss it you will land among the stars." ... quote has been credited to Les Brown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylviek/shoot-for-the-moon-even-if-you-miss-it-you-will-land-among-the-stars/) [Sylviek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylviek/) > [When certain stars take you under their wing, it does help as they gauge your potential and are willing to work with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-bhatt/when-certain-stars-take-you-under-their-wing-it-does-help-as-they/) [Vikram Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-bhatt/) > [We were put here as witnesses to the miracle of life. We see the stars, and we want them. We are beholden to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-were-put-here-as-witnesses-to-the-miracle-of-life-we-see-the-stars/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-reason-so-many-of-us-are-obsessed-with-becoming-stars-is-because/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) [Browse all 6,190 Astronomy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sometimes driven aground by the photon storms, by the swirling of the galaxies, clockwise and counterclockwise, ticking with light down the dark sea-corridors lined with our silver sails, our demon-haunted sails, our hundred-league masts as fine as threads, as fine as silver needles sewing the threads of starlight, embroidering the stars on black velvet, wet with the winds of Time that go racing by. The bone in her teeth! The spume, the flying spume of Time, cast up on these beaches where old sailors can no longer keep their bones from the restless, the unwearied universe. Where has she gone? My lady, the mate of my soul? Gone across the running tides of Aquarius, of Pisces, of Aries. Gone. Gone in her little boat, her nipples pressed against the black velvet lid, gone, sailing away forever from the star-washed shores, the dry shoals of the habitable worlds. She is her own ship, she is the figurehead of her own ship, and the captain. Bosun, Bosun, put out the launch! Sailmaker, make a sail! She has left us behind. We have left her behind. She is in the past we never knew and the future we will not see. 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