--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You meant more than life to me. I lived…" description: "\"“You meant more than life to me. I lived through you not knowing, not knowing I was living. I learned that you called for me. I came to where you were ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/john-ashbery-3600_life_you-meant-more-than-life-to-me-i-lived-t_3208149.jpg" --- # You meant more than life to me. I lived through you not… ![“You meant more than life to me. I lived through you not knowing, not knowing I was living. I learned that you called for me. I came to where you were living, up a stair. There was no one there. No one to appreciate me. The legality of it upset a chair. Many times to celebrate we were called…” quote by John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/john-ashbery-3600_life_you-meant-more-than-life-to-me-i-lived-t_3208149.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/john-ashbery-3600_life_you-meant-more-than-life-to-me-i-lived-t_3208149.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/john-ashbery-3600_life_you-meant-more-than-life-to-me-i-lived-t_3208149.jpg) > ““You meant more than life to me. I lived through you not knowing, not knowing I was living. I learned that you called for me. I came to where you were living, up a stair. There was no one there. No one to appreciate me. The legality of it upset a chair. Many times to celebrate we were called together and where we had been there was nothing there, nothing that is anywhere. We passed obliquely, leaving no stare. When the sun was done muttering, in an optimistic way, it was time to leave that there. Blithely passing in and out of where, blushing shyly at the tag on the overcoat near the window where the outside crept away, I put aside the there and now. Now it was time to stumble anew, blacking out when time came in the window. There was not much of it left. I laughed and put my hands shyly across your eyes. Can you see now? Yes I can see I am only in the where where the blossoming stream takes off, under your window. Go presently you said. Go from my window. I am in love with your window I cannot undermine it, I said.”” [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poem explores longing, emptiness, and the fleeting nature of connection, using surreal imagery to convey emotional disorientation. **In simple terms:** It reflects on searching for meaning in empty moments. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and seek authentic moments. Themes loneliness search for meaning transience Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - quiet contemplation - artistic creation - personal reflection - nighttime thoughts Key Concepts existentialism surrealism poetic ambiguity Questions to Reflect On - What does “the window” symbolize for you? - How do you find meaning in ambiguous experiences? A Different Perspective The poem’s abstract style may alienate readers seeking clear narrative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time to leave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-to-leave/) ## Related quotes > [“Oliver’s voice said from the window, “It’s about time you returned.” Startled, she dropped the pies. 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I feel like I’m standing outside their house and watching them through the window.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-downing/these-past-few-days-i-ve-realised-we-re-strangers-to-each-other-i/) [David Downing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-downing/) > [“When you're meant to do something, life will have a way of giving you no option but follow the road you're meant to walk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nely-cab/when-you-re-meant-to-do-something-life-will-have-a-way-of-giving-you/) [Nely Cab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nely-cab/) > [If people don't like who you are, they aren't meant to be in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yungblud/if-people-don-t-like-who-you-are-they-aren-t-meant-to-be-in-your-life/) [Yungblud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yungblud/) > [Two people dont have to be together right now, in a month, or in a year. If those two people are meant to be,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/two-people-dont-have-to-be-together-right-now-in-a-month-or-in-a-year/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some people are just not meant to be in your life no matter how much you want them to be..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/some-people-are-just-not-meant-to-be-in-your-life-no-matter-how-much/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > [I used to have a fake Louis Vuitton bag because I thought it meant something in life. But now I realize that all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/i-used-to-have-a-fake-louis-vuitton-bag-because-i-thought-it-meant/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [“Before he knew he was immortal. Before life was no longer fragile. Those were the days when life truly meant something. When life was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-fine/before-he-knew-he-was-immortal-before-life-was-no-longer-fragile/) [Chelsea Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-fine/) > [The people who are meant to be in your life will always gravitate back towards you, no matter how far they wander.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-people-who-are-meant-to-be-in-your-life-will-always-gravitate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by John Ashbery > [“It was always November there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/it-was-always-november-there/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [“Yes, they are alive and can have those colors, But I, in my soul, am alive too. I feel I must sing and dance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/yes-they-are-alive-and-can-have-those-colors-but-i-in-my-soul-am/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [How many people came and stayed a certain time, Uttered light or dark speech that became part of you Like light behind windblown fog…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/how-many-people-came-and-stayed-a-certain-time-uttered-light-or-dark/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [Some certified nut Will try to tell you it's poetry, (It's extraordinary, it makes a great deal of sense) But watch out or he'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/some-certified-nut-will-try-to-tell-you-it-s-poetry-it-s/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [The ellipse is as aimless as that, Stretching invisibly into the future so as to reappear In our present. Its flexing is its account,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-ellipse-is-as-aimless-as-that-stretching-invisibly-into-the/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [Somewhere someone is traveling furiously toward you, At incredible speed, traveling day and night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/somewhere-someone-is-traveling-furiously-toward-you-at-incredible/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [The facts of history have been too well rehearsed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-facts-of-history-have-been-too-well-rehearsed/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [“The genius of Cornell is that he sees and enables us to see with the eyes of childhood, before our vision got clouded by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-genius-of-cornell-is-that-he-sees-and-enables-us-to-see-with-the/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [The mind Is so hospitable, taking in everything Like boarders, and you don't see until It's all over how little there was to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-mind-is-so-hospitable-taking-in-everything-like-boarders-and-you/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [In the increasingly convincing darkness The words become palpable, like a fruit That is too beautiful to eat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/in-the-increasingly-convincing-darkness-the-words-become-palpable/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [What I like about music is its ability to be convincing, to carry an argument through successfully to the finish, though the terms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/what-i-like-about-music-is-its-ability-to-be-convincing-to-carry-an/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [“The Unknown Travelers Lugged to the gray arbor, I have climbed this snow-stone on my face, My stick, but what, snapped the avalanche The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-unknown-travelers-lugged-to-the-gray-arbor-i-have-climbed-this/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [I don't look on poetry as closed works. I feel they're going on all the time in my head and I occasionally snip off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/i-don-t-look-on-poetry-as-closed-works-i-feel-they-re-going-on-all/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [Somewhere someone is traveling furiously toward you, At incredible speed, traveling day and night, Through blizzards and desert heat, across torrents, through narrow passes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/somewhere-someone-is-traveling-furiously-toward-you-at-incredible-2/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [The promise of learning is a delusion… Tomorrow would alter the sense of what had already been learned, that the learning process is extended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-promise-of-learning-is-a-delusion-tomorrow-would-alter-the-sense/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) [Explore all 126 John Ashbery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You meant more than life to me. 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