--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am that last, that final thing, the…" description: "\"I am that last, that final thing, the body in a white sheet listening,\" — Li-Young Lee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/li-young-lee-17263_body_i-am-that-last-that-final-thing-the-body_2916277.jpg" --- # I am that last, that final thing, the body in a white… ![“I am that last, that final thing, the body in a white sheet listening,” quote by Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/li-young-lee-17263_body_i-am-that-last-that-final-thing-the-body_2916277.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/li-young-lee-17263_body_i-am-that-last-that-final-thing-the-body_2916277.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/li-young-lee-17263_body_i-am-that-last-that-final-thing-the-body_2916277.jpg) > “I am that last, that final thing, the body in a white sheet listening,” [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) ## 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 confronts mortality, listening to the silence of a lifeless body. **In simple terms:** Facing death’s quiet finality. Key Takeaway Reflect on life’s impermanence. Themes mortality silence reflection Mood somber contemplative Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - funeral rites - personal grief - meditation Key Concepts poetry existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you find meaning in endings? - What does silence teach you? A Different Perspective Silence can also be a space for peace, not just loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Body White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-white-4226668/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying/) [Final Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/final-thing-4226666/) [Finals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finals/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Listening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening/) [Sheet Listening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sheet-listening-4226667/) [Sheets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sheets/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White Sheet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-sheet-933301/) ## Related quotes > [You know, I'm the one that's out there jeopardizing my life, my body and everything in between the white lines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desean-jackson/you-know-i-m-the-one-that-s-out-there-jeopardizing-my-life-my-body/) [DeSean Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desean-jackson/) > [Death is terrifying and beautiful, a final thing we can all do together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-warren-jones/death-is-terrifying-and-beautiful-a-final-thing-we-can-all-do-together/) [Shane Warren Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-warren-jones/) > [The first and final thing you have to do in this world is to last it and not be smashed by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-first-and-final-thing-you-have-to-do-in-this-world-is-to-last-it/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“I am grateful for the white sheet - all my stories are his.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mladen-or-evi/i-am-grateful-for-the-white-sheet-all-my-stories-are-his/) [Mladen Đorđević](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mladen-or-evi/) > [“Amber was past tense. We were covering her inanimate face in the white sheet of was. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/amber-was-past-tense-we-were-covering-her-inanimate-face-in-the-white/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [White sheet, yellow tape, where your dogs at? Count a million cash, can you blog that?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-ross/white-sheet-yellow-tape-where-your-dogs-at-count-a-million-cash-can/) [Rick Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-ross/) > [Old age likes to dwell in the recollections of the past, and, mistaking, the speedy march of years, often is inclined to take the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lajos-kossuth/old-age-likes-to-dwell-in-the-recollections-of-the-past-and-mistaking/) [Lajos Kossuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lajos-kossuth/) > [I have been much amused at ye singular phenomena resulting from bringing of a needle into contact with a piece of amber or resin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/i-have-been-much-amused-at-ye-singular-phenomena-resulting-from/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [The World's a Printing-House, our words, our thoughts, Our deeds, are characters of several sizes. Each soul is a Compos'tor, of whose faults The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/the-world-s-a-printing-house-our-words-our-thoughts-our-deeds-are/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [We wanted to guide the musicians, so we could create our own sound. We would never let the band just go in and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamont-dozier/we-wanted-to-guide-the-musicians-so-we-could-create-our-own-sound-we/) [Lamont Dozier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamont-dozier/) > [Clothing was something I always wanted to do. I've been pulling tear sheets from magazines since I was a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-richie/clothing-was-something-i-always-wanted-to-do-i-ve-been-pulling-tear/) [Nicole Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-richie/) > [“nerves twitching in the sheets -- to face the sunlight again, that's clearly trouble. I like the city better when the neon lights are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/nerves-twitching-in-the-sheets-to-face-the-sunlight-again-that-s/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I like that you can easily flip the sheets over and have a different feel or vibe in your room. You don't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-white/i-like-that-you-can-easily-flip-the-sheets-over-and-have-a-different/) [Shaun White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-white/) > [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [My father thrives on fear. You know that prayer If I should die before I wake? I had sheets that said that!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/my-father-thrives-on-fear-you-know-that-prayer-if-i-should-die-before/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) ## More by Li-Young Lee > [Memory revises me. Even now a letter comes from a place I don’t know, from someone with my name and postmarked years ago, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/memory-revises-me-even-now-a-letter-comes-from-a-place-i-don-t-know/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Could it be in longing we are most ourselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/could-it-be-in-longing-we-are-most-ourselves/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Our bodies look solid, but they arent. Were like a fountain. A fountain of water looks solid, but you can put your fingers right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/our-bodies-look-solid-but-they-arent-were-like-a-fountain-a-fountain/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [A poem is like a score for the human voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/a-poem-is-like-a-score-for-the-human-voice/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [I've been thinking about something for a long time, and I keep noticing that most human speech-if not all human speech-is made with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/i-ve-been-thinking-about-something-for-a-long-time-and-i-keep/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [“From blossoms comes this brown paper bag of peaches we bought from the boy at the bend in the road where we turned toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/from-blossoms-comes-this-brown-paper-bag-of-peaches-we-bought-from/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [“Moonlight and high wind. Dark poplars toss, insinuate the sea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/moonlight-and-high-wind-dark-poplars-toss-insinuate-the-sea/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [“But, no one can tell without cease our human story, and so we lose, lose”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/but-no-one-can-tell-without-cease-our-human-story-and-so-we-lose-lose/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [“The moon from any window is one part whoever’s looking. The part I can’t see is everything my sister keeps to herself. One part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/the-moon-from-any-window-is-one-part-whoever-s-looking-the-part-i-can/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Poetry is the language of extremity. Poetry is a transfer of potency. You feel something potent and then you transfer it onto the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/poetry-is-the-language-of-extremity-poetry-is-a-transfer-of-potency/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [We suffer each other to have each other a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/we-suffer-each-other-to-have-each-other-a-while/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Maybe being winged means being wounded by infinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/maybe-being-winged-means-being-wounded-by-infinity/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [“In the uproar, the confusion of accents and inflections how will you hear me when I open my mouth? Look for me, one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/in-the-uproar-the-confusion-of-accents-and-inflections-how-will-you/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Brimming. That's what it is, I want to get to a place where my sentences enact brimming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/brimming-that-s-what-it-is-i-want-to-get-to-a-place-where-my/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [There are days we live as if death were nowhere in the background; from joy to joy to joy, from wing to wing, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/there-are-days-we-live-as-if-death-were-nowhere-in-the-background/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) [Explore all 37 Li-Young Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [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/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am that last, that final thing, the body in a white sheet listening,", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Li-Young Lee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/i-am-that-last-that-final-thing-the-body-in-a-white-sheet-listening/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Body" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/i-am-that-last-that-final-thing-the-body-in-a-white-sheet-listening/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/li-young-lee-17263_body_i-am-that-last-that-final-thing-the-body_2916277.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/li-young-lee-17263_body_i-am-that-last-that-final-thing-the-body_2916277.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/li-young-lee-17263_body_i-am-that-last-that-final-thing-the-body_2916277.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am that last, that final thing, the body in a white sheet listening,” — Li-Young Lee", "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": "Li-Young Lee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am that last, that final...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/i-am-that-last-that-final-thing-the-body-in-a-white-sheet-listening/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/i-am-that-last-that-final-thing-the-body-in-a-white-sheet-listening/#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 } } ] } ```