--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: when i left them, i painted myself…" description: "\"“when i left them, i painted myself burgundy and grey i stopped saying the words “please” and “i’m sorry” i walked into grocery stores and bought too m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ca/irynka-63104_grocery-store_when-i-left-them-i-painted-myself-burgun_1326816.jpg" --- # when i left them, i painted myself burgundy and grey i… ![“when i left them, i painted myself burgundy and grey i stopped saying the words “please” and “i’m sorry” i walked into grocery stores and bought too many clementines, ordered too much Chinese, spent my last four dollars on over the counter sleeping pills that made my stomach bleed but my soul…” quote by irynka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ca/irynka-63104_grocery-store_when-i-left-them-i-painted-myself-burgun_1326816.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ca/irynka-63104_grocery-store_when-i-left-them-i-painted-myself-burgun_1326816.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ca/irynka-63104_grocery-store_when-i-left-them-i-painted-myself-burgun_1326816.jpg) > ““when i left them, i painted myself burgundy and grey i stopped saying the words “please” and “i’m sorry” i walked into grocery stores and bought too many clementines, ordered too much Chinese, spent my last four dollars on over the counter sleeping pills that made my stomach bleed but my soul forget every time i wanted to tell you “i’m sorry”, i wrote you a poem instead, i said things like “i hope your mother calls you beautiful” to strangers and when boys with dry hands and broken eyes asked me on dates i didn’t hesitate no, didn’t even stop them when their hands grazed my breasts and when they moaned my name against my thighs i cried i opened the mail and didn’t tell anyone for a week that i got accepted into law school, i stopped watering the plants and filled the bathtub with roses and milk, when i got invited to parties, i wore blue jeans with white shirts, sat alone in some kitchen drinking hard liquor until some boys mouth made me feel like home i stopped answering the phone for a month, i didn’t like how my name tasted in his mouth but he was older and didn’t say things like “it doesn’t matter” and i think i went insane, my heart boiled blisters, i couldn’t understand why my bones felt like cages, i walked around art museums until closing, watched them lock up the gates and then open them up again the very same morning, i thought about clocks and how time was a deception of my fingertips, i had stars growing inside of me into constellations, and only when some man on the 9 AM bus asked me for the time did i realize that you cannot run from light igniting your lungs, you cannot run from yourself.”” [irynka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irynka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A raw, fragmented confession of self‑destruction, yearning, and fleeting attempts at connection, revealing how pain can drive chaotic behavior and artistic expression. **In simple terms:** A chaotic confession of pain and yearning. Key Takeaway Acknowledge pain, seek healthier outlets. Themes pain desire identity art self‑destruction Mood despair intense confessional Type personal confessional poetic When to use this quote - relationship breakup - law school acceptance - art museum visits - night drinking - personal crisis Key Concepts nihilism coping expression Questions to Reflect On - How does self‑destruction affect personal growth? - What healthier ways can you express intense emotions? A Different Perspective The narrative may romanticize self‑harm and reckless behavior, which can be harmful if taken as advice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art Museum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-museum/) [Art Museums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-museums/) [Grocery store](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grocery-store/) [Law school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-school/) [Sleeping pills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleeping-pills/) ## Related quotes > [Ah, yes! I wrote the "Purple Cow" - I'm sorry, now, I wrote it! But I can tell you anyhow, I'll kill you if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/ah-yes-i-wrote-the-purple-cow-i-m-sorry-now-i-wrote-it-but-i-can-tell/) [Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/) > [I have never met an author who was sorry he or she wrote a book. 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Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-martin/) ## More by irynka > [“i want the moon tattooed on my wrists my grandmother keeps asking me to pray, i don’t have the heart to tell her that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irynka/i-want-the-moon-tattooed-on-my-wrists-my-grandmother-keeps-asking-me/) [irynka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irynka/) > [“i wore red lipstick to the grocery store last Monday to buy a carton off eggs and so when the cashier told me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irynka/i-wore-red-lipstick-to-the-grocery-store-last-monday-to-buy-a-carton/) [irynka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irynka/) > [“i said, so what do you want to do? you said paint the sky black, break pearl necklaces and watch the beads dance on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irynka/i-said-so-what-do-you-want-to-do-you-said-paint-the-sky-black-break/) [irynka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irynka/) > [“you said, “your bones belong in museums” i said, “when you kiss me, fireworks electrocute my spine” my mother is dying and doesn’t play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irynka/you-said-your-bones-belong-in-museums-i-said-when-you-kiss-me/) [irynka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irynka/) [Explore all 5 irynka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irynka/) ## More Cried quotes > [“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/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [“In the streets, the children scream, the lovers cried, and the poets dreamed,” he crooned, putting down the metal grill tongs to take my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-clarke/in-the-streets-the-children-scream-the-lovers-cried-and-the-poets/) [Alexandria Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-clarke/) > [When the Lord Jesus Christ became my surety . . . 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Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) Browse all 1,318 Cried quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“when i left them, i painted myself burgundy and grey i stopped saying the words “please” and “i’m sorry” i walked into grocery stores and bought too many clementines, ordered too much Chinese, spent my last four dollars on over the counter sleeping pills that made my stomach bleed but my soul forget every time i wanted to tell you “i’m sorry”, i wrote you a poem instead, i said things like “i hope your mother calls you beautiful” to strangers and when boys with dry hands and broken eyes asked me on dates i didn’t hesitate no, didn’t even stop them when their hands grazed my breasts and when they moaned my name against my thighs i cried i opened the mail and didn’t tell anyone for a week that i got accepted into law school, i stopped watering the plants and filled the bathtub with roses and milk, when i got invited to parties, i wore blue jeans with white shirts, sat alone in some kitchen drinking hard liquor until some boys mouth made me feel like home i stopped answering the phone for a month, i didn’t like how my name tasted in his mouth but he was older and didn’t say things like “it doesn’t matter” and i think i went insane, my heart boiled blisters, i couldn’t understand why my bones felt like cages, i walked around art museums until closing, watched them lock up the gates and then open them up again the very same morning, i thought about clocks and how time was a deception of my fingertips, i had stars growing inside of me into constellations, and only when some man on the 9 AM bus asked me for the time did i realize that you cannot run from light igniting your lungs, you cannot run from yourself.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "irynka" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": 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