--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And when the clouds do clear away Get a…" description: "\"“And when the clouds do clear away Get a momentary chance to see The thing I've been trying to beat to death The soft creature that I used to be The be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/john-darnielle-2176_animals_and-when-the-clouds-do-clear-away-get-a_705559.png" --- # And when the clouds do clear away Get a momentary chance… ![“And when the clouds do clear away Get a momentary chance to see The thing I've been trying to beat to death The soft creature that I used to be The better animal I used to be” quote by John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/john-darnielle-2176_animals_and-when-the-clouds-do-clear-away-get-a_705559.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/john-darnielle-2176_animals_and-when-the-clouds-do-clear-away-get-a_705559.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/john-darnielle-2176_animals_and-when-the-clouds-do-clear-away-get-a_705559.png) > ““And when the clouds do clear away Get a momentary chance to see The thing I've been trying to beat to death The soft creature that I used to be The better animal I used to be”” [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The lyric reflects a fleeting moment of self‑recognition, confronting past struggles and the softer self we once were. **In simple terms:** Seeing a brief chance to notice our inner softness. Key Takeaway Pause and observe your inner self. Themes self‑reflection growth identity vulnerability Mood introspective hopeful Type poetic motivational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - creative writing - mindfulness practice - personal crisis Key Concepts psychology self‑concept transformation Questions to Reflect On - What part of yourself have you been ignoring? - How can you honor the “soft creature” within? A Different Perspective The moment may be fleeting and hard to capture. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Goths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goths/) [Loss of innocence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss-of-innocence/) ## Related quotes > [“I just want a soft creature with shiny eyes to lay with in the dark, the glint of her eyes reflected back at mine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-zelazny/i-just-want-a-soft-creature-with-shiny-eyes-to-lay-with-in-the-dark/) John Zelazny > [When the clouds clear we shall know the colour of the sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keorapetse-kgositsile/when-the-clouds-clear-we-shall-know-the-colour-of-the-sky/) [Keorapetse Kgositsile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keorapetse-kgositsile/) > [“It's the one thing we do better than any other animal. We communicate, cooperate, and make tools to extend our reach. Every new tool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/it-s-the-one-thing-we-do-better-than-any-other-animal-we-communicate/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [When I saw my father's death it was not human, he was less better than an animal and I didn't want the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/park-yeon-mi/when-i-saw-my-father-s-death-it-was-not-human-he-was-less-better-than/) [Park Yeon-mi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/park-yeon-mi/) > [“I reject animal welfare reform and single-issue campaigns because they are not only inconsistent with the claims of justice that we should be making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/i-reject-animal-welfare-reform-and-single-issue-campaigns-because/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [“If he was to be treated no better than an animal, he would at least learn the limits of his cage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shira-anthony/if-he-was-to-be-treated-no-better-than-an-animal-he-would-at-least/) [Shira Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shira-anthony/) > [At 155, I will be the same animal, an even better animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-mcgregor/at-155-i-will-be-the-same-animal-an-even-better-animal/) [Conor McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-mcgregor/) > [Better to be an animal than a man, an insect than an animal, a plant than an insect, and so on. Salvation? Whatever diminishes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/better-to-be-an-animal-than-a-man-an-insect-than-an-animal-a-plant/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you love your duty only when your master treats you well or pleasant things happen to you, you are no better than an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-neelakantan/if-you-love-your-duty-only-when-your-master-treats-you-well-or/) [Anand Neelakantan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-neelakantan/) > [“It’s better for the animal to have a good life than to live” and have a bad life, he said by phone. “That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-better-for-the-animal-to-have-a-good-life-than-to-live-and-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Manushya (man) is a being with Manas (mind); and as soon as his thinking power goes, he becomes no better than an animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/manushya-man-is-a-being-with-manas-mind-and-as-soon-as-his-thinking/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“Alaric now at this moment of supreme crisis, coming down to the rough shore and seeing the howling waves, raised his hand to heaven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-a-lafferty/alaric-now-at-this-moment-of-supreme-crisis-coming-down-to-the-rough/) [R.A. Lafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-a-lafferty/) > [“Olympius, in the name of the Emperor Honorius, ordered the forces in Bologna to take the field against Alaric, on peril of the death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-a-lafferty/olympius-in-the-name-of-the-emperor-honorius-ordered-the-forces-in/) [R.A. Lafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-a-lafferty/) > [“The Goths had trained bears and possibly, from one garbled account, trained seals. The dance is something with no survival, lacking verbal or pictorial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-a-lafferty/the-goths-had-trained-bears-and-possibly-from-one-garbled-account/) [R.A. Lafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-a-lafferty/) > [They are called 'Emos' now, and before that they were 'Goths.' They didn't have a name for it when I was one, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gatiss/they-are-called-emos-now-and-before-that-they-were-goths-they-didn-t/) [Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) ## More by John Darnielle > [I don't write my own publicity materials, I just read 'em and give 'em the OK.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/i-don-t-write-my-own-publicity-materials-i-just-read-em-and-give-em/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [“But secret agents, like God, only give signs to their confidants. They are also very cruel and even unhappy at times. At any rate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/but-secret-agents-like-god-only-give-signs-to-their-confidants-they/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [“I am heavy in his arms, and I feel safe there, but I am lost, and I need constantly to be shoring up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/i-am-heavy-in-his-arms-and-i-feel-safe-there-but-i-am-lost-and-i-need/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [The more I learn about stuff the more conscious I become of grave gaps in my knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/the-more-i-learn-about-stuff-the-more-conscious-i-become-of-grave/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [If you get into a fight and somebody punches you, you get two feelings. One: That really hurts. Two: That relief in the realness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/if-you-get-into-a-fight-and-somebody-punches-you-you-get-two-feelings/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [When I was a kid, I was a big science fiction fan, but current horror books were harder to get your hands on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/when-i-was-a-kid-i-was-a-big-science-fiction-fan-but-current-horror/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [It's impossible to be content all the time - you have to learn to be content in places where you're unhappy and owning your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/it-s-impossible-to-be-content-all-the-time-you-have-to-learn-to-be/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [“It's in the nature of the landscape to change, and it's in the nature of people to help the process along...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/it-s-in-the-nature-of-the-landscape-to-change-and-it-s-in-the-nature/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [Everybody is in various states of needing to transcend something. I believe in mental health care, but when we call people "crazy," we exclude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/everybody-is-in-various-states-of-needing-to-transcend-something-i/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [“But resiliency only means that a thing retains its shape. That it doesn’t break, or lose its ability to function. It doesn’t mean a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/but-resiliency-only-means-that-a-thing-retains-its-shape-that-it/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [“One thing I’ve learned is it’s better sometimes, in the weeds, to resist the temptation to stand up and follow the compass. \*”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/one-thing-i-ve-learned-is-it-s-better-sometimes-in-the-weeds-to/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [People always talk about good time rock and roll, Chuck Berry or whatever, like this liberating force for feeling good. But what I need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/people-always-talk-about-good-time-rock-and-roll-chuck-berry-or/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [It's hard always to say what it is one likes about a place, for me. I feel it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/it-s-hard-always-to-say-what-it-is-one-likes-about-a-place-for-me-i/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [“Another nagging little question lodged like a bit of grapeshot in his chest. It was nothing major, but the place where he stored them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/another-nagging-little-question-lodged-like-a-bit-of-grapeshot-in-his/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [I'm not really a goal-oriented guy. I started doing the Mountain Goats just for the sheer hell of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/i-m-not-really-a-goal-oriented-guy-i-started-doing-the-mountain-goats/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) [Explore all 181 John Darnielle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) ## More Animals quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/all-these-creatures-spend-their-time-explaining-realizing-happily/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) [Browse all 6,813 Animals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And when the clouds do clear away Get a momentary chance to see The thing I've been trying to beat to death The soft creature that I used to be The better animal I used to be”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Darnielle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/and-when-the-clouds-do-clear-away-get-a-momentary-chance-to-see-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animals" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/and-when-the-clouds-do-clear-away-get-a-momentary-chance-to-see-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/john-darnielle-2176_animals_and-when-the-clouds-do-clear-away-get-a_705559.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/john-darnielle-2176_animals_and-when-the-clouds-do-clear-away-get-a_705559.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/john-darnielle-2176_animals_and-when-the-clouds-do-clear-away-get-a_705559.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And when the clouds do clear away Get a momentary chance to see The thing I've been trying to beat to death…” — John Darnielle", "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": "John Darnielle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“And when the clouds do clear...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/and-when-the-clouds-do-clear-away-get-a-momentary-chance-to-see-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/and-when-the-clouds-do-clear-away-get-a-momentary-chance-to-see-the/#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 } } ] } ```