--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And if there is water there let it be…" description: "\"“And if there is water there let it be from a river. And if there is peace let it be from silence and forgetting. From the slow settle of dust on a hou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/678/lidia-yuknavitch-3991_forgetting_and-if-there-is-water-there-let-it-be-fr_1139632.png" --- # And if there is water there let it be from a river. And if… ![“And if there is water there let it be from a river. And if there is peace let it be from silence and forgetting. From the slow settle of dust on a house worn down, on a history lost, on a woman buried quietly into geography. And if there is memory let it be disjointed and nonsensical, let it…” quote by Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/678/lidia-yuknavitch-3991_forgetting_and-if-there-is-water-there-let-it-be-fr_1139632.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/678/lidia-yuknavitch-3991_forgetting_and-if-there-is-water-there-let-it-be-fr_1139632.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/678/lidia-yuknavitch-3991_forgetting_and-if-there-is-water-there-let-it-be-fr_1139632.png) > ““And if there is water there let it be from a river. And if there is peace let it be from silence and forgetting. From the slow settle of dust on a house worn down, on a history lost, on a woman buried quietly into geography. And if there is memory let it be disjointed and nonsensical, let it disturb understanding and logic, let it rise like birds or hands into the blood blue bone of the sky, whispering its nothing beyond telling. (…) Let someone lose the captions to all of the photographs; let them pile into new logics and forms that outlive us. - “Siberia: Still Life of a Moving Image” (6. Representation)”” [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memory, silence, and forgetting shape identity; embracing fragmented recollections can free us from rigid narratives. **In simple terms:** Forgetfulness can be liberating. Key Takeaway Accept fragmented memories. Themes memory silence identity freedom Mood contemplative poetic Type essay prose When to use this quote - grief processing - creative writing - personal healing Key Concepts philosophical psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does forgetting aid healing? - What value lies in disjointed memory? A Different Perspective Fragmented memory can cause confusion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Forgetting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgetting/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) ## Related quotes > [“let the past be purely dumb matter and let things simply fade and hide themselves away, let them keep silence and neither recount nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-the-past-be-purely-dumb-matter-and-let-things-simply-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let silence be the art you practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jala-ad-din-rumi/let-silence-be-the-art-you-practice/) Jala Ad Din Rumi > [“Take good care of your final word. If your final say will hunt you in day's ahead, then hold back the words, and let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/take-good-care-of-your-final-word-if-your-final-say-will-hunt-you-in/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“She died." I had to prompt him. "Soon after?" "In the early hours of February the nineteenth, 1916." I tried to see the expression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/she-died-i-had-to-prompt-him-soon-after-in-the-early-hours-of/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [When words cannot express how I feel, I let silence speak on my behalf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-words-cannot-express-how-i-feel-i-let-silence-speak-on-my-behalf/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When the silence bores you, let the music play; when the music bores you, let the silence play!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/when-the-silence-bores-you-let-the-music-play-when-the-music-bores/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Let silence triumph this time, for words kept losing for too long.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aquib-ali/let-silence-triumph-this-time-for-words-kept-losing-for-too-long/) [Aquib Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aquib-ali/) > [Let silence take you to the core of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/let-silence-take-you-to-the-core-of-life/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Not only does silence give us a chance to understand ourselves better, to get a truer and more balanced perspective on our own lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/not-only-does-silence-give-us-a-chance-to-understand-ourselves-better/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Rise against, and let no one silence you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-raymond/rise-against-and-let-no-one-silence-you/) Victor Raymond > [Let the silence respond !!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadeem-asif/let-the-silence-respond/) [Nadeem Asif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadeem-asif/) > [“O dear Himalaya...why are you so amazing, can I kiss your peak or can I just let your silence speak...O dear Himalaya...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/o-dear-himalaya-why-are-you-so-amazing-can-i-kiss-your-peak-or-can-i/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [But let me have silence always, in the centre of the shouting—that is essential! Let me have silence so that no pin may drop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/but-let-me-have-silence-always-in-the-centre-of-the-shouting-that-is/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [“Let my silence grow with noise as pregnant mothers grow with life. Let my silence permeate these walls as sunlight permeates a home. Let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/let-my-silence-grow-with-noise-as-pregnant-mothers-grow-with-life-let/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [Sometimes it's better to let the silence do the talking!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/sometimes-it-s-better-to-let-the-silence-do-the-talking/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) ## More by Lidia Yuknavitch > [I'm kind of still down with Virg Woolf on this one: "women must kill the aesthetic ideal through which they themselves have been 'killed'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-m-kind-of-still-down-with-virg-woolf-on-this-one-women-must-kill/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“This man was gorgeous. I'm mentioning this because women live their lives secretly waiting for their lives to become movies. We act like men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/this-man-was-gorgeous-i-m-mentioning-this-because-women-live-their/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“We'd cry great waves of love and rage for this young woman, whose resistance made our own lives look empty as nadless ball sacks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/we-d-cry-great-waves-of-love-and-rage-for-this-young-woman-whose/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“We consumer and become exactly what we create. In all times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/we-consumer-and-become-exactly-what-we-create-in-all-times/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [The WRITER of memoir gets incoming weirdness in very odd ways. I was recently talking to a memoir writer whose work just went meteoric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/the-writer-of-memoir-gets-incoming-weirdness-in-very-odd-ways-i-was/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [I just want my stories to be mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-just-want-my-stories-to-be-mine/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“Everyone’s last wish turned out to be love: may I be consumed by the simplicity and purity of a love story, any love, base…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/everyone-s-last-wish-turned-out-to-be-love-may-i-be-consumed-by-the/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Birth is of course violent. Menstruation is violent. Trust me, if men's penises opened up once a month and shot blood, we'd be hearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/birth-is-of-course-violent-menstruation-is-violent-trust-me-if-men-s/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“Words from my whole body, my entire life, or the lives of women and girls whose stories got stuck in their throats came gushing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/words-from-my-whole-body-my-entire-life-or-the-lives-of-women-and/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“We are what happens when the seemingly unthinkable celebrity rises to power. Our existence makes my eyes hurt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/we-are-what-happens-when-the-seemingly-unthinkable-celebrity-rises-to/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Worse, the bodies of women, minorities, children, disenfranchised bodies (prisoners, so-called nut cases, etc...) and their truths don't "count" as either present and important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/worse-the-bodies-of-women-minorities-children-disenfranchised-bodies/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [It may be true too that I would not have encountered the most important books and art and ideas of my life had I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/it-may-be-true-too-that-i-would-not-have-encountered-the-most/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [I might think that equality has been achieved, there is no power relation going on in terms of class, race, or gender, I might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-might-think-that-equality-has-been-achieved-there-is-no-power/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“That image of Joan of Arc burning up in a fire burned inside me like a new religion. Her face skyward. Her faith muscled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/that-image-of-joan-of-arc-burning-up-in-a-fire-burned-inside-me-like/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [This is something I know: damaged women? We don't think we deserve kindness. IN fact, when kindness happens to us, we go a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/this-is-something-i-know-damaged-women-we-don-t-think-we-deserve/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) [Explore all 111 Lidia Yuknavitch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) ## More Forgetting quotes > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [The most painful thing in life is losing yourself in the process of valuing someone too much & forgetting that you are special too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-most-painful-thing-in-life-is-losing-yourself-in-the-process-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-focus-on-this-one-thing-forgetting-the-past-and-looking-forward-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forgetting your Self is the greatest injury; all the calamities flow from it. Take care of the most important, the lesser will take care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/forgetting-your-self-is-the-greatest-injury-all-the-calamities-flow/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [If you can't forgive and forget, pick only one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-brault/if-you-can-t-forgive-and-forget-pick-only-one/) [Robert Brault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-brault/) > [Absolute is a game with only one player where Absolute forgets itself so it would have a reason to fulfill the motion while returning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/absolute-is-a-game-with-only-one-player-where-absolute-forgets-itself/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [“Several times that day, the name or thought of Papa had come up. And each time, Francie had felt a flash of tenderness instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/several-times-that-day-the-name-or-thought-of-papa-had-come-up-and/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/falling-out-of-love-is-chiefly-a-matter-of-forgetting-how-charming/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“She's sure, absolutely sure, that what she's waiting for will happen, just the way she wants it to; and I'm so uncertain, so fearful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/she-s-sure-absolutely-sure-that-what-she-s-waiting-for-will-happen/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [Im afraid of being forgotten. Because, it seems everyone I get close to, ends up forgetting me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arcine-arciniegas/im-afraid-of-being-forgotten-because-it-seems-everyone-i-get-close-to/) [Arcine Arciniegas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arcine-arciniegas/) > [“Keeping histories is as much about knowing what needs forgetting as what ought to be remembered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-bobet/keeping-histories-is-as-much-about-knowing-what-needs-forgetting-as/) [Leah Bobet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-bobet/) > [“Forgetting is what nature does best. The universe is a huge forgetting machine. It erases information no matter how hard we try to hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-ives-gilman/forgetting-is-what-nature-does-best-the-universe-is-a-huge-forgetting/) Carolyn Ives Gilman > [“Who was it said, ‘We forget because we must’? He was right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/who-was-it-said-we-forget-because-we-must-he-was-right/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [Moving on isnt forgetting the past, its learning from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/moving-on-isnt-forgetting-the-past-its-learning-from-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 1,010 Forgetting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgetting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And if there is water there let it be from a river. And if there is peace let it be from silence and forgetting. From the slow settle of dust on a house worn down, on a history lost, on a woman buried quietly into geography. And if there is memory let it be disjointed and nonsensical, let it disturb understanding and logic, let it rise like birds or hands into the blood blue bone of the sky, whispering its nothing beyond telling. 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