--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A DESCRIPTION OF HAPPINESS IN KOBENHAVN…" description: "\"“A DESCRIPTION OF HAPPINESS IN KOBENHAVN All this windless day snow fell into the King's Garden where I walked, perfecting and growing old, abandoning ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/jack-gilbert-10996_growing-old_a-description-of-happiness-in-kobenhavn_393229.png" --- # A DESCRIPTION OF HAPPINESS IN KOBENHAVN All this windless… ![“A DESCRIPTION OF HAPPINESS IN KOBENHAVN All this windless day snow fell into the King's Garden where I walked, perfecting and growing old, abandoning one by one everybody: randomly in love with the paradise furnace of my mind. Now I sit in the dark, dreaming of a marble sun and its strictness…” quote by Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/jack-gilbert-10996_growing-old_a-description-of-happiness-in-kobenhavn_393229.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/jack-gilbert-10996_growing-old_a-description-of-happiness-in-kobenhavn_393229.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/jack-gilbert-10996_growing-old_a-description-of-happiness-in-kobenhavn_393229.png) > ““A DESCRIPTION OF HAPPINESS IN KOBENHAVN All this windless day snow fell into the King's Garden where I walked, perfecting and growing old, abandoning one by one everybody: randomly in love with the paradise furnace of my mind. Now I sit in the dark, dreaming of a marble sun and its strictness. This is to tell you I am not coming back. To tell you instead of my private life among people who must wrestle their hearts in order to feel anything, as though it were unnatural. What I master by day still lapses in the night. But I go on with the cargo cult, blindly feeling the snow come down, learning to flower by tightening.”” [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) ## 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 reflects on isolation, longing, and the futility of trying to find meaning in a world that feels artificial and cold. **In simple terms:** Feeling disconnected and resigned. Key Takeaway Accept imperfection, seek authentic connection. Themes isolation longing existential artificiality acceptance Mood melancholic reflective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - nighttime contemplation Key Concepts existentialism psychology artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - What does “cargo cult” symbolize for you? - How can one find meaning amid artificiality? A Different Perspective The poetic imagery may obscure practical insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Description Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/description-happiness-3041176/) [Feeling Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-snow-3543360/) [Growing old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-old/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happiness Kobenhavn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-kobenhavn-3543359/) [Kobenhavn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kobenhavn-3543362/) [Kobenhavn Windless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kobenhavn-windless-3543361/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Private life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-life/) ## Related quotes > [The loveliest creations of men are persistently painful. What would be the description of happiness? Nothing, except what prepares and then what destroys it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/the-loveliest-creations-of-men-are-persistently-painful-what-would-be-2/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [The loveliest creations of men are persistently painful. What would be the description of happiness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/the-loveliest-creations-of-men-are-persistently-painful-what-would-be/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“But the disastrous walk reminded me that I had reached an age where only careful planning and a steady eye would keep me safe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-darling/but-the-disastrous-walk-reminded-me-that-i-had-reached-an-age-where/) [Lynn Darling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-darling/) > [“Sometimes seeing the changes in one another had the opposite effect and actually comforted them. Seeing that they weren’t alone in growing older, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-thomas-ford/sometimes-seeing-the-changes-in-one-another-had-the-opposite-effect/) [Michael Thomas Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-thomas-ford/) > [“The freedom of growing older is that one is no longer obliged to dislike someone simply because they dislike you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-fellowes/the-freedom-of-growing-older-is-that-one-is-no-longer-obliged-to/) [Julian Fellowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-fellowes/) > [I look forward to growing old and wise and audacious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenda-jackson/i-look-forward-to-growing-old-and-wise-and-audacious/) [Glenda Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenda-jackson/) > [The people I've respected most in the industry over the years - Paul Newman, for instance. I just loved the way he handled growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-people-i-ve-respected-most-in-the-industry-over-the-years-paul/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [M is for the million things she gave me, O means only that she's growing old, T is for the tears she shed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/m-is-for-the-million-things-she-gave-me-o-means-only-that-she-s/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“Till now they send him dreams and no more deed; So doth he flame again with might for action, Forgetful of the council of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/till-now-they-send-him-dreams-and-no-more-deed-so-doth-he-flame-again/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [The time to begin most things is ten years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-time-to-begin-most-things-is-ten-years-ago/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [“They were people whose lives were slow, who did not see themselves growing old, or falling sick, or dying, but who disappeared little by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/they-were-people-whose-lives-were-slow-who-did-not-see-themselves/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Growing old-it's not nice, but it's interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/growing-old-it-s-not-nice-but-it-s-interesting/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [“What is life? Life - that is: continually shedding something that wants to die. Life - that is: being cruel and inexorable against everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-life-life-that-is-continually-shedding-something-that-wants/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Jack Gilbert > [I had lived all of my youthful dreams, but I couldn't think of many adult ones. I finally realized that we don't have many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/i-had-lived-all-of-my-youthful-dreams-but-i-couldn-t-think-of-many/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [I dream of lost vocabularies that might express some of what we no longer can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/i-dream-of-lost-vocabularies-that-might-express-some-of-what-we-no/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [Why do so manysettle for so little? I don't understand why they're not greedy for what's inside them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/why-do-so-manysettle-for-so-little-i-don-t-understand-why-they-re-not/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [Suddenly this defeat. This rain. The blues gone gray And the browns gone gray And yellow A terrible amber. In the cold streets Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/suddenly-this-defeat-this-rain-the-blues-gone-gray-and-the-browns/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [When I was walking in the mountains with the Japanese man and began to hear the water, he said, 'What is the sound of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/when-i-was-walking-in-the-mountains-with-the-japanese-man-and-began/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [I'm vain enough to think that I've made a successful life. I've had everything I've ever wanted. You can't beat that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/i-m-vain-enough-to-think-that-i-ve-made-a-successful-life-i-ve-had/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [“There was no water at my grandfather’s when I was a kid and would go for it with two zinc buckets. Down the path,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/there-was-no-water-at-my-grandfather-s-when-i-was-a-kid-and-would-go/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [“Failing and Flying" Everyone forgets that Icarus also flew. It's the same when love comes to an end, or the marriage fails and people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/failing-and-flying-everyone-forgets-that-icarus-also-flew-it-s-the/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [“Horses At Midnight Without A Moon" Our heart wanders lost in the dark woods. Our dream wrestles in the castle of doubt. But there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/horses-at-midnight-without-a-moon-our-heart-wanders-lost-in-the-dark/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [“Imagine if suffering were real. Imagine if those old people were afraid of death. What if the midget or the girl with one arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/imagine-if-suffering-were-real-imagine-if-those-old-people-were/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [The heart lies to itself because it must.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/the-heart-lies-to-itself-because-it-must/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [“ A Brief for the Defense Sorrow everywhere. Slaughter everywhere. If babies are not starving someplace, they are starving somewhere else. With flies in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/a-brief-for-the-defense-sorrow-everywhere-slaughter-everywhere-if/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [To hear the faint sound of oars in the silence as a rowboat comes slowly out and then goes back is truly worth all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/to-hear-the-faint-sound-of-oars-in-the-silence-as-a-rowboat-comes/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [“Naked Except for the Jewelry” “And,” she said, “you must talk no more about ecstasy. It is loneliness.” The woman wandered about picking up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/naked-except-for-the-jewelry-and-she-said-you-must-talk-no-more-about/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/we-must-have-the-stubbornness-to-accept-our-gladness-in-the-ruthless/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) [Explore all 62 Jack Gilbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) ## More Growing old quotes > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [“What is life? Life - that is: continually shedding something that wants to die. Life - that is: being cruel and inexorable against everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-life-life-that-is-continually-shedding-something-that-wants/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Growing old-it's not nice, but it's interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/growing-old-it-s-not-nice-but-it-s-interesting/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [“They were people whose lives were slow, who did not see themselves growing old, or falling sick, or dying, but who disappeared little by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/they-were-people-whose-lives-were-slow-who-did-not-see-themselves/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [The time to begin most things is ten years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-time-to-begin-most-things-is-ten-years-ago/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [“Till now they send him dreams and no more deed; So doth he flame again with might for action, Forgetful of the council of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/till-now-they-send-him-dreams-and-no-more-deed-so-doth-he-flame-again/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [M is for the million things she gave me, O means only that she's growing old, T is for the tears she shed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/m-is-for-the-million-things-she-gave-me-o-means-only-that-she-s/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [The people I've respected most in the industry over the years - Paul Newman, for instance. I just loved the way he handled growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-people-i-ve-respected-most-in-the-industry-over-the-years-paul/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [I look forward to growing old and wise and audacious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenda-jackson/i-look-forward-to-growing-old-and-wise-and-audacious/) [Glenda Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenda-jackson/) > [“The freedom of growing older is that one is no longer obliged to dislike someone simply because they dislike you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-fellowes/the-freedom-of-growing-older-is-that-one-is-no-longer-obliged-to/) [Julian Fellowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-fellowes/) > [“Sometimes seeing the changes in one another had the opposite effect and actually comforted them. Seeing that they weren’t alone in growing older, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-thomas-ford/sometimes-seeing-the-changes-in-one-another-had-the-opposite-effect/) [Michael Thomas Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-thomas-ford/) > [“But the disastrous walk reminded me that I had reached an age where only careful planning and a steady eye would keep me safe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-darling/but-the-disastrous-walk-reminded-me-that-i-had-reached-an-age-where/) [Lynn Darling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-darling/) > [I think, is wonderful about growing older, is appreciation for the miracle of existence, of life. I thank God every day. I also do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/i-think-is-wonderful-about-growing-older-is-appreciation-for-the/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [“There was some kind of cultural cause for the decline of the ancient world. It was neither corruption of public spirit nor Christianity. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/there-was-some-kind-of-cultural-cause-for-the-decline-of-the-ancient/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) [Browse all 577 Growing old quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-old/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A DESCRIPTION OF HAPPINESS IN KOBENHAVN All this windless day snow fell into the King's Garden where I walked, perfecting and growing old, abandoning one by one everybody: randomly in love with the paradise furnace of my mind. Now I sit in the dark, dreaming of a marble sun and its strictness. This is to tell you I am not coming back. To tell you instead of my private life among people who must wrestle their hearts in order to feel anything, as though it were unnatural. What I master by day still lapses in the night. 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