--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: These wrinkles are nothing These gray…" description: "\"These wrinkles are nothing These gray hairs are nothing, This stomach which sags with old food, these bruised and swollen ankles, my darkening brain, t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/mark-strand-9847_ankles_these-wrinkles-are-nothing-these-gray-ha_280903.png" --- # These wrinkles are nothing These gray hairs are nothing… ![“These wrinkles are nothing These gray hairs are nothing, This stomach which sags with old food, these bruised and swollen ankles, my darkening brain, they are nothing. I am the same boy my mother used to kiss.” quote by Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/mark-strand-9847_ankles_these-wrinkles-are-nothing-these-gray-ha_280903.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/mark-strand-9847_ankles_these-wrinkles-are-nothing-these-gray-ha_280903.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/mark-strand-9847_ankles_these-wrinkles-are-nothing-these-gray-ha_280903.png) > “These wrinkles are nothing These gray hairs are nothing, This stomach which sags with old food, these bruised and swollen ankles, my darkening brain, they are nothing. I am the same boy my mother used to kiss.” [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poet lists physical signs of aging but asserts his inner self remains unchanged, emphasizing continuity of identity despite bodily decay. **In simple terms:** Aging body, unchanged self. Key Takeaway Recognize inner constancy. Themes identity aging self continuity Mood reflective calm Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - health care - elder care - self‑acceptance Key Concepts philosophy existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain self‑identity as your body changes? - What aspects of self are truly immutable? A Different Perspective Physical decline does not erase personal identity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Gray hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gray-hair/) [Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hair/) [Kissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kissing/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) ## Related quotes > [My age makes all my wrinkles and gray hair make sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tig-notaro/my-age-makes-all-my-wrinkles-and-gray-hair-make-sense/) [Tig Notaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tig-notaro/) > [So fallen! so lost! the light withdrawn Which once he wore; The glory from his gray hairs gone For evermore!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/so-fallen-so-lost-the-light-withdrawn-which-once-he-wore-the-glory/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [I am not going to respect ... gray hairs unless there is wisdom beneath them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali-jinnah/i-am-not-going-to-respect-gray-hairs-unless-there-is-wisdom-beneath/) [Muhammad Ali Jinnah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali-jinnah/) > [Avarice, with all its black attendants, is confessedly a crime of old age, and seldom arrives at maturity till accompanied with gray hairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-collyer/avarice-with-all-its-black-attendants-is-confessedly-a-crime-of-old/) [Mary Collyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-collyer/) > [Eternity has no gray hairs! The flowers fade, the heart withers, man grows old and dies, the world lies down in the sepulchre of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-heber/eternity-has-no-gray-hairs-the-flowers-fade-the-heart-withers-man/) [Reginald Heber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-heber/) > [I think too many people, if you are 46 you want to look 36, and if you're 36 you want to look 26. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-church/i-think-too-many-people-if-you-are-46-you-want-to-look-36-and-if-you/) [Eric Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-church/) > [Eternity has no gray hairs. The flowers fade, the heart withers, people grow old and die, the world lies down in the sepulchre of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-heber/eternity-has-no-gray-hairs-the-flowers-fade-the-heart-withers-people/) [Reginald Heber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-heber/) > [“Although initially only few in numbers, it seems my gray hairs have launched an effective peer-pressure campaign intended to convert the others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/although-initially-only-few-in-numbers-it-seems-my-gray-hairs-have/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [Gross and obscure natures, however decorated, seem impure shambles; but character gives splendor to youth, and awe to wrinkled skin and gray hairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/gross-and-obscure-natures-however-decorated-seem-impure-shambles-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Gray hairs are death's blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/gray-hairs-are-death-s-blossoms/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Nothing dates one so dreadfully as to think someplace is uptown. At our age one must be watchful of these conversational gray hairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-gordon/nothing-dates-one-so-dreadfully-as-to-think-someplace-is-uptown-at/) [Ruth Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-gordon/) > [“WHEN I WAS A boy, after my mother died, I always tried hard to hold her in my mind as I was falling asleep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/when-i-was-a-boy-after-my-mother-died-i-always-tried-hard-to-hold-her/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Happy the boy whose mother is tired of talking nonsense to him before he is old enough to know the sense of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-hare/happy-the-boy-whose-mother-is-tired-of-talking-nonsense-to-him-before/) [Augustus Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-hare/) > [“In a brief court proceeding in 1966 the boy’s mother had her son declared legally dead so she could enter into possession of Edward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-a-brief-court-proceeding-in-1966-the-boy-s-mother-had-her-son/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Give me the life of the boy whose mother is nurse, seamstress, washerwoman, cook, teacher, angel, and saint, all in one, and whose father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-carnegie/give-me-the-life-of-the-boy-whose-mother-is-nurse-seamstress/) [Andrew Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-carnegie/) ## More by Mark Strand > [We’re only here for a short while. And I think it’s such a lucky accident, having been born, that we’re almost obliged to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/we-re-only-here-for-a-short-while-and-i-think-it-s-such-a-lucky/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [If every head of state and every government official spent an hour a day reading poetry we'd live in a much more humane and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/if-every-head-of-state-and-every-government-official-spent-an-hour-a/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [To open the dictionary of the Beyond and discover what one suspected, that the only word in it is nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/to-open-the-dictionary-of-the-beyond-and-discover-what-one-suspected/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [I think the best American poetry is the poetry that utilizes the resources of poetry rather than exploits the defects or triumphs of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/i-think-the-best-american-poetry-is-the-poetry-that-utilizes-the/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [“The ultimate self-effacement is not the pretense of the minimal, but the jocular considerations of the maximal in the manner of Wallace Stevens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/the-ultimate-self-effacement-is-not-the-pretense-of-the-minimal-but/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [I have been eating poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/i-have-been-eating-poetry/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [“Keeping Things Whole" In a field I am the absence of field. This is always the case. Wherever I am I am what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/keeping-things-whole-in-a-field-i-am-the-absence-of-field-this-is/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [There's a certain point, when you're writing autobiographical stuff, where you don't want to misrepresent yourself. It would be dishonest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/there-s-a-certain-point-when-you-re-writing-autobiographical-stuff/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [Poetry is about slowing down. You sit and you read something, you read it again, and it reveals a little bit more, and things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/poetry-is-about-slowing-down-you-sit-and-you-read-something-you-read/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [Pain is filtered in a poem so that it becomes finally, in the end, pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/pain-is-filtered-in-a-poem-so-that-it-becomes-finally-in-the-end/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [In a field I am the absence of field.That is always the case. Wherever I am, I am what is missing. When I walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/in-a-field-i-am-the-absence-of-field-that-is-always-the-case-wherever/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [Even this late it happens the coming of love, the coming of light. You wake and the candles are lit as if by themselves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/even-this-late-it-happens-the-coming-of-love-the-coming-of-light-you/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [Those hours given over to basking in the glow of an imagined future, of being carried away in streams of promise by a love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/those-hours-given-over-to-basking-in-the-glow-of-an-imagined-future/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [I feel that anything is possible in a poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/i-feel-that-anything-is-possible-in-a-poem/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [I tend to like poems that engage me - that is to say, which do not bore me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/i-tend-to-like-poems-that-engage-me-that-is-to-say-which-do-not-bore/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) [Explore all 70 Mark Strand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) ## More Ankles quotes > [If life were like a competitive race, some people would be given a flying start and others would line up with weights tied to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mardy-grothe/if-life-were-like-a-competitive-race-some-people-would-be-given-a/) [Mardy Grothe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mardy-grothe/) > [The sugar maple is remarkable for its clean ankle. The groves of these trees looked like vast forest sheds, their branches stoppingshort at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-sugar-maple-is-remarkable-for-its-clean-ankle-the-groves-of-these/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm pretty cautious and not very athletic, so I've only had really dumb injuries, like sprained ankles and allergic reactions. I did have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-wilson/i-m-pretty-cautious-and-not-very-athletic-so-i-ve-only-had-really/) [Mara Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-wilson/) > [I've broken all my fingers, I've broken my hand, ribs, ankles... everything, I've broken everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sky-blu/i-ve-broken-all-my-fingers-i-ve-broken-my-hand-ribs-ankles-everything/) [Sky Blu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sky-blu/) > [Never walk near the bed; to a ghost your ankle is your most vulnerable part-once in bed, you're safe; he may lie around under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/never-walk-near-the-bed-to-a-ghost-your-ankle-is-your-most-vulnerable/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [You may feel a tugging sensation near your ankles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/you-may-feel-a-tugging-sensation-near-your-ankles/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [Rock stars are like sports stars: If you snap your ankle, you're done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-grohl/rock-stars-are-like-sports-stars-if-you-snap-your-ankle-you-re-done/) [Dave Grohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-grohl/) > [A tall blonde entered the room, wearing a yellow sash that marked her as advocate. Two men followed her, carrying papers. She was lean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/a-tall-blonde-entered-the-room-wearing-a-yellow-sash-that-marked-her/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [We're told cars cause pollution. A hundred years ago city streets were ankle deep in horse excrement. What kind of pollution do you want?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/we-re-told-cars-cause-pollution-a-hundred-years-ago-city-streets-were/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [In the past five weeks I've trained hard, trying to get my ankle back to where I want it to be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-flintoff/in-the-past-five-weeks-i-ve-trained-hard-trying-to-get-my-ankle-back/) [Andrew Flintoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-flintoff/) > [It isn't a coincidence that governments everywhere want to educate children. Government education, in turn, is supposed to be evidence of the state's goodness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/llewellyn-rockwell/it-isn-t-a-coincidence-that-governments-everywhere-want-to-educate/) [Llewellyn Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/llewellyn-rockwell/) > [I have kind of loose ankles a little bit, and sometimes that's not always good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee/i-have-kind-of-loose-ankles-a-little-bit-and-sometimes-that-s-not/) [David Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee/) > [Doctor." Gideon set one ankle on the opposite knee and settled back, creating a picture of unyielding decisiveness. "The only way I'm keeping my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-day/doctor-gideon-set-one-ankle-on-the-opposite-knee-and-settled-back/) [Sylvia Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-day/) > [Why do guys insist on wearing those odious jeans with their rear ends hanging down around their ankles? Do they really think it's hot?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-kluger/why-do-guys-insist-on-wearing-those-odious-jeans-with-their-rear-ends/) [Steve Kluger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-kluger/) > [Dancers, you know, they have pain everywhere: ankles in the morning, or back or neck or ribs or knees or the muscles. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/dancers-you-know-they-have-pain-everywhere-ankles-in-the-morning-or/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) Browse all 239 Ankles quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "These wrinkles are nothing These gray hairs are nothing, This stomach which sags with old food, these bruised and swollen ankles, my darkening brain, they are nothing. 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