--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Lovely and unremarkable, the clutter of…" description: "\"“Lovely and unremarkable, the clutter of mugs and books, the almost-empty Fig Newtons box, thick dishes in a big tin tray, the knife still standing in ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/marilyn-hacker-13845_books_lovely-and-unremarkable-the-clutter-of-m_367937.png" --- # Lovely and unremarkable, the clutter of mugs and books… ![“Lovely and unremarkable, the clutter of mugs and books, the almost-empty Fig Newtons box, thick dishes in a big tin tray, the knife still standing in the butter, change like the color of river water in the delicate shift to day. Thin fog veils the hedges, where a neighbor dog makes rounds. 'Go to…” quote by Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/marilyn-hacker-13845_books_lovely-and-unremarkable-the-clutter-of-m_367937.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/marilyn-hacker-13845_books_lovely-and-unremarkable-the-clutter-of-m_367937.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/marilyn-hacker-13845_books_lovely-and-unremarkable-the-clutter-of-m_367937.png) > ““Lovely and unremarkable, the clutter of mugs and books, the almost-empty Fig Newtons box, thick dishes in a big tin tray, the knife still standing in the butter, change like the color of river water in the delicate shift to day. Thin fog veils the hedges, where a neighbor dog makes rounds. 'Go to bed. It doesn't matter about the washing-up. Take this book along.' Whatever it was we said that night is gone, framed like a photograph nobody took. Stretched out on a camp cot with the book, I think that we will talk all night again, there, or another where, but I am wrong.”” [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A quiet domestic scene captures fleeting moments and the yearning for connection amid everyday clutter and impermanence. **In simple terms:** Every moments is fleeting and we crave lasting connection. Key Takeaway Cherish small moments before they slip away. Themes nostalgia domesticity impermanence connection Mood reflective melancholic contemplative Type literary personal When to use this quote - evening reflection - late night conversations - reading in bed - shared meals - quiet mornings Key Concepts memory time presence mundane beauty Questions to Reflect On - What small moments do you let pass unnoticed? - How can you create lasting bonds in daily routines? A Different Perspective The scene may romanticize monotony, overlooking deeper relational issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) ## Related quotes > [“It should not matter, but it does. I want to know how many hours of the night are gone and how many remain and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredric-brown/it-should-not-matter-but-it-does-i-want-to-know-how-many-hours-of-the/) [Fredric Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredric-brown/) > [Harvest moon: around the pond I wander and the night is gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/harvest-moon-around-the-pond-i-wander-and-the-night-is-gone/) [Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) > [“That night at the hotel, in our room with the long empty hall outside and our shoes outside the door, a thick carpet on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/that-night-at-the-hotel-in-our-room-with-the-long-empty-hall-outside/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [The day is done, the night is gone, but the dreams are yet to be done!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-day-is-done-the-night-is-gone-but-the-dreams-are-yet-to-be-done/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The poet had wasted his night while others had spent it enjoying themselves and now he realised that it was lost forever. He only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bulgakov/the-poet-had-wasted-his-night-while-others-had-spent-it-enjoying/) [Mikhail Bulgakov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bulgakov/) > [My silent cry echoes in the night now that you're gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esper/my-silent-cry-echoes-in-the-night-now-that-you-re-gone/) Esper > [“—Night is Done— Night is done, gone the moon, gone the stars From the skies. Fades the black of the night Comes the morn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-lasky/night-is-done-night-is-done-gone-the-moon-gone-the-stars-from-the/) [Kathryn Lasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-lasky/) > [“That's now what you said last night," he banters. Connor's lip rise."Shh, that's between us love .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krista-ritchie/that-s-now-what-you-said-last-night-he-banters-connor-s-lip-rise-shh/) [Krista Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krista-ritchie/) > [“Whom are you?” said he, for he had been to night school.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/whom-are-you-said-he-for-he-had-been-to-night-school/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [Three words you said to me in the night... I love you I need you I want you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-harrington/three-words-you-said-to-me-in-the-night-i-love-you-i-need-you-i-want/) [Chelsea Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-harrington/) > [That's the question, isn't it?" you said one night. "Does death bring freedom, or is it the end of freedom?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/that-s-the-question-isn-t-it-you-said-one-night-does-death-bring/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“In fact," Slad was saying, "that was a night of firsts for me. I'm pretty sure I had sex with her too." "Pretty sure?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-d-hussey/in-fact-slad-was-saying-that-was-a-night-of-firsts-for-me-i-m-pretty/) [C.D. Hussey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-d-hussey/) > [“-You said something else last night. Something about taking care of the woman you loved. -I didn't think you were listening -I heard you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-marie/you-said-something-else-last-night-something-about-taking-care-of-the/) [Bernadette Marie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-marie/) > [“Mirrors on the ceiling, The pink champagne on ice And she said 'We are all just prisoners here, of our own device' And in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/mirrors-on-the-ceiling-the-pink-champagne-on-ice-and-she-said-we-are/) [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) > [“You remember I said last night that you were my secret?” Anna nodded. “I knew just what you meant. You’re mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-g-robinson/you-remember-i-said-last-night-that-you-were-my-secret-anna-nodded-i/) [Joan G. Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-g-robinson/) ## More by Marilyn Hacker > [I don't think it's by accident that I was first attracted to translating two French women poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/i-don-t-think-it-s-by-accident-that-i-was-first-attracted-to/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [You happened to me. You were as deep down as I’ve ever been. You were inside me like my pulse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/you-happened-to-me-you-were-as-deep-down-as-i-ve-ever-been-you-were/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [I've been an inveterate reader of literary magazines since I was a teenager. There are always discoveries. You're sitting in your easy chair, reading;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/i-ve-been-an-inveterate-reader-of-literary-magazines-since-i-was-a/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [Translation is an interestingly different way to be involved both with poetry and with the language that I've found myself living in much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/translation-is-an-interestingly-different-way-to-be-involved-both/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [Paris is a wonderful city. 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The whole idea is regarded as a novelty, or an oddity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/the-phenomenon-of-university-creative-writing-programs-doesn-t-exist/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [“From Orient Point The art of living isn't hard to muster: Enjoy the hour, not what it might portend. When someone makes you promises,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/from-orient-point-the-art-of-living-isn-t-hard-to-muster-enjoy-the/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [Translation makes me look at how a poem is put together in a different way, without the personal investment of the poem I'm writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/translation-makes-me-look-at-how-a-poem-is-put-together-in-a/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [“imagine that it were given back to me to be the child who knew departure would be sweet, the boy who drew square-rigged ships,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/imagine-that-it-were-given-back-to-me-to-be-the-child-who-knew/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [As a teacher you are more or less obliged to pay the same amount of attention to everything. That can wear you down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/as-a-teacher-you-are-more-or-less-obliged-to-pay-the-same-amount-of/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [“Nearly a Valediction" You happened to me. I was happened to like an abandoned building by a bull- dozer, like the van that missed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/nearly-a-valediction-you-happened-to-me-i-was-happened-to-like-an/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [“Sweetheart, it isn’t lust; it’s all the rest of what I want with you that scares me shitless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/sweetheart-it-isn-t-lust-it-s-all-the-rest-of-what-i-want-with-you/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [You are almost not free, if you are teaching a group of graduate students, to become friends with one of them. I don't mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/you-are-almost-not-free-if-you-are-teaching-a-group-of-graduate/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) [Explore all 49 Marilyn Hacker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Lovely and unremarkable, the clutter of mugs and books, the almost-empty Fig Newtons box, thick dishes in a big tin tray, the knife still standing in the butter, change like the color of river water in the delicate shift to day. Thin fog veils the hedges, where a neighbor dog makes rounds. 'Go to bed. It doesn't matter about the washing-up. Take this book along.' 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