--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They will say I smoked cigarettes and…" description: "\"They will say I smoked cigarettes and marijuana, cursed hoarse as a crow in all my languages, and loved morphine and Demerol and tequila and pulque, wo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdf/kate-braverman-15823_age_they-will-say-i-smoked-cigarettes-and-ma_2319914.jpg" --- # They will say I smoked cigarettes and marijuana, cursed… ![“They will say I smoked cigarettes and marijuana, cursed hoarse as a crow in all my languages, and loved morphine and Demerol and tequila and pulque, women and men. I will shrug my illusion of shoulders and answer that I am a water woman, not a vessel, not something you can sail or charter. I am…” quote by Kate Braverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdf/kate-braverman-15823_age_they-will-say-i-smoked-cigarettes-and-ma_2319914.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdf/kate-braverman-15823_age_they-will-say-i-smoked-cigarettes-and-ma_2319914.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdf/kate-braverman-15823_age_they-will-say-i-smoked-cigarettes-and-ma_2319914.jpg) > “They will say I smoked cigarettes and marijuana, cursed hoarse as a crow in all my languages, and loved morphine and Demerol and tequila and pulque, women and men. I will shrug my illusion of shoulders and answer that I am a water woman, not a vessel, not something you can sail or charter. I am instead the tributary, the river, the fluid source, and the sea itself. I am all her rainy implications. And what do you, with your rusted compass, know of love?” [Kate Braverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-braverman/) ## 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 rejects being defined by vices or external labels, asserting an identity as fluid, expansive, and beyond conventional navigation. **In simple terms:** I am fluid, not a vessel. Key Takeaway Embrace your boundless nature. Themes identity fluidity rebellion selfdefinition love Mood defiant reflective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - self‑acceptance - creative expression - overcoming judgment Key Concepts existentialism selfhood metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How do you navigate love without a compass? - What does being a tributary mean to you? A Different Perspective The metaphor may obscure practical self‑care needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Cigarette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cigarette/) [Compass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compass/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Marijuana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marijuana/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Tequila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tequila/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [“She knows swimming still She die in water, This is Woman's life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smita-ravishankar/she-knows-swimming-still-she-die-in-water-this-is-woman-s-life/) Smita Ravishankar > [“in the water is a woman of such beauty that her skin is paler than the white marble and her hair is darker than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/in-the-water-is-a-woman-of-such-beauty-that-her-skin-is-paler-than/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [Given the final futility of our struggle, is the fleeting jolt of meaning that art gives us valuable? 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I'm interested in presenting characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-braverman/male-critics-and-men-in-the-publishing-industry-want-from-their-women/) [Kate Braverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-braverman/) > [All my friends are artists, so I am used to collective agony as a mode.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-braverman/all-my-friends-are-artists-so-i-am-used-to-collective-agony-as-a-mode/) [Kate Braverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-braverman/) > [I believed in immaculate conception and spontaneous combustion. I believed in aliens from outer space and vampires, prophecy, and the resurrection of the dead.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-braverman/i-believed-in-immaculate-conception-and-spontaneous-combustion-i/) [Kate Braverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-braverman/) > [“The place between actual seasons is filled with tiny roses in transition. There are murders and amputations in the garden. 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That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They will say I smoked cigarettes and marijuana, cursed hoarse as a crow in all my languages, and loved morphine and Demerol and tequila and pulque, women and men. I will shrug my illusion of shoulders and answer that I am a water woman, not a vessel, not something you can sail or charter. I am instead the tributary, the river, the fluid source, and the sea itself. I am all her rainy implications. 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