--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We knew that it would soon be over, and…" description: "\"“We knew that it would soon be over, and so we put it all into a poem, to tell the universe who we were, and why we were here, and what we said and did..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/674/neil-gaiman-29_astronomy_we-knew-that-it-would-soon-be-over-and-s_1781327.jpg" --- # We knew that it would soon be over, and so we put it all… ![“We knew that it would soon be over, and so we put it all into a poem, to tell the universe who we were, and why we were here, and what we said and did and thought and dreamed and yearned for. We wrapped our dreams in words and patterned the words so that they would live forever, unforgettable…” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/674/neil-gaiman-29_astronomy_we-knew-that-it-would-soon-be-over-and-s_1781327.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/674/neil-gaiman-29_astronomy_we-knew-that-it-would-soon-be-over-and-s_1781327.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/674/neil-gaiman-29_astronomy_we-knew-that-it-would-soon-be-over-and-s_1781327.jpg) > ““We knew that it would soon be over, and so we put it all into a poem, to tell the universe who we were, and why we were here, and what we said and did and thought and dreamed and yearned for. We wrapped our dreams in words and patterned the words so that they would live forever, unforgettable. Then we sent the poem as a pattern of flux, to wait in the heart of a star, beaming out its message in pulses and bursts and fuzzes across the electromagnetic spectrum, until the time when, on worlds a thousand sun systems distant, the pattern would be decoded and read, and it would become a poem once again.”” [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We encode our deepest hopes into art, sending them across time like signals hoping to be understood by distant minds. **In simple terms:** Art preserves our dreams for future listeners. Key Takeaway Create lasting, meaningful work. Themes creativity legacy communication hope Mood hopeful poetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing - music - visual art - memorials - space missions Key Concepts artistic expression cosmic connection timelessness Questions to Reflect On - What message would you send into the cosmos? - How can art survive beyond its era? A Different Perspective Interpretation may be lost or distorted over vast distances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Live forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-forever/) [Poem Pattern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem-pattern-1864560/) [Poem Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem-tell-1392133/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Sent Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sent-poem-1864559/) [Soon Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soon-poem-1864561/) [Universe Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe-said-599208/) ## Related quotes > [“I am a poem, or I am a pattern, or a race of people whose world was swallowed by the sea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-am-a-poem-or-i-am-a-pattern-or-a-race-of-people-whose-world-was/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You're a poem?' I repeated. She chewed her lower lip. 'If you want. I am a poem, or I am a pattern, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-re-a-poem-i-repeated-she-chewed-her-lower-lip-if-you-want-i-am-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Most of the poems I write go through forty versions and then stay in a file on my computer. I'm not very good at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-laird/most-of-the-poems-i-write-go-through-forty-versions-and-then-stay-in/) [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) > [“My friend Debbie from Texas sent me a poem to cheer me up. Her father told her that a friend of his wrote it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-rodham-clinton/my-friend-debbie-from-texas-sent-me-a-poem-to-cheer-me-up-her-father/) [Hillary Rodham Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-rodham-clinton/) > [A revolutionary poem will not tell you who or when to kill, what and when to burn, or even how to theorize. It reminds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/a-revolutionary-poem-will-not-tell-you-who-or-when-to-kill-what-and/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“If I could sum up my poetry in a few well-chosen words, the result might be a poem. Several years ago, when I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-thwaite/if-i-could-sum-up-my-poetry-in-a-few-well-chosen-words-the-result/) [Anthony Thwaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-thwaite/) > [I think I'm a very good reader of poetry, but obviously, like everybody, I have a set of criteria for reading poems, and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/i-think-i-m-a-very-good-reader-of-poetry-but-obviously-like-everybody/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [It should be of the pleasure of a poem itself to tell how it can. The figure a poem makes. It begins in delight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/it-should-be-of-the-pleasure-of-a-poem-itself-to-tell-how-it-can-the/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [It is absurd to think that the only way to tell if a poem is lasting is to wait and see if it lasts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/it-is-absurd-to-think-that-the-only-way-to-tell-if-a-poem-is-lasting/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [“The fairy who was not old, not young, who was red roses, white snowfall, who was blind and saw everything, who sent stories resounding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/the-fairy-who-was-not-old-not-young-who-was-red-roses-white-snowfall/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [The universe, they said, depended for its operation on the balance of four forces which they identified as charm, persuasion, uncertainty and bloody-mindedne ss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-they-said-depended-for-its-operation-on-the-balance-of/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“He talked to me like he did when I was a child, when his voice was clear and melodic, his hair still dark, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-cruz/he-talked-to-me-like-he-did-when-i-was-a-child-when-his-voice-was/) [Angie Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-cruz/) > [“Find yourself a place in the universe,' she said, 'a place where the dirt feels like goodness under your feet. Take the right picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/find-yourself-a-place-in-the-universe-she-said-a-place-where-the-dirt/) [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) > [“In a well-ordered universe,” I said to Frank, “there would be no mysteries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-matson/in-a-well-ordered-universe-i-said-to-frank-there-would-be-no-mysteries/) [Morgan Matson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-matson/) > [“because we are alive, the universe must be said to be alive. We are its consciousness as well as our own. We rise out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/because-we-are-alive-the-universe-must-be-said-to-be-alive-we-are-its/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) ## More by Neil Gaiman > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Like all sentient beings, Fat Charlie had a weirdness quotient. For some days the needle had been over in the red, occasionally banging jerkily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/like-all-sentient-beings-fat-charlie-had-a-weirdness-quotient-for/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Shadow crawled across the floor to the yellow foam-rubber pad and climbed onto it, pulling the thin blanket over himself, and closed his eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/shadow-crawled-across-the-floor-to-the-yellow-foam-rubber-pad-and/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [ “\[T\]hey could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/t-hey-could-not-help-being-amused-every-time-another-little-human/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [So many things to see, people to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/so-many-things-to-see-people-to-do/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’ – Ben Franklin,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/three-may-keep-a-secret-if-two-of-them-are-dead-ben-franklin/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You can tell the date of an old science fiction novel by every word on the page. Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-quickest-way-is-sometimes-the-longest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“They were spells, spelled with words to make worlds, waiting for me, in the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-spells-spelled-with-words-to-make-worlds-waiting-for-me-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What do stars do? They shine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-do-stars-do-they-shine/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“What," asked Mr Croup, "do you want?" "What," asked the Marquis de Carabas, a little more rhetorically, "does anyone want?" "Dead things," suggested Mr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-asked-mr-croup-do-you-want-what-asked-the-marquis-de-carabas-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You get on with your own life. Lettie gave it to you. You just have to grow up and try and be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-on-with-your-own-life-lettie-gave-it-to-you-you-just-have-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Explore all 2,526 Neil Gaiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More Astronomy quotes > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Wen daylight turns to a darkened hue, D lovely stars hinting at u, ur heart beat tells u something true, That some 1 badly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butterfly-kisses/wen-daylight-turns-to-a-darkened-hue-d-lovely-stars-hinting-at-u-ur/) [Butterfly\_Kisses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/butterfly-kisses/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Astronomers have built telescopes which can show myriads of stars unseen before; but when a man looks through a tear in his own eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/astronomers-have-built-telescopes-which-can-show-myriads-of-stars/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [From the grasses in the field to the stars in the sky, each one is doing just that; and there is such profound peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/from-the-grasses-in-the-field-to-the-stars-in-the-sky-each-one-is/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“Sentinels of trees breathe life into bodies of earthly flesh As their mighty arms reach to the stars we join in their quest for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/sentinels-of-trees-breathe-life-into-bodies-of-earthly-flesh-as-their/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [“If there are no stars on the sky, you must try to be happy with the shining streetlights!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-there-are-no-stars-on-the-sky-you-must-try-to-be-happy-with-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) [Nicole Gentile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gentile/) > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars." ... quote has been credited to Les Brown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylviek/shoot-for-the-moon-even-if-you-miss-it-you-will-land-among-the-stars/) [Sylviek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylviek/) > [When certain stars take you under their wing, it does help as they gauge your potential and are willing to work with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-bhatt/when-certain-stars-take-you-under-their-wing-it-does-help-as-they/) [Vikram Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-bhatt/) > [We were put here as witnesses to the miracle of life. We see the stars, and we want them. We are beholden to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-were-put-here-as-witnesses-to-the-miracle-of-life-we-see-the-stars/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-reason-so-many-of-us-are-obsessed-with-becoming-stars-is-because/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) [Browse all 6,190 Astronomy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We knew that it would soon be over, and so we put it all into a poem, to tell the universe who we were, and why we were here, and what we said and did and thought and dreamed and yearned for. We wrapped our dreams in words and patterned the words so that they would live forever, unforgettable. Then we sent the poem as a pattern of flux, to wait in the heart of a star, beaming out its message in pulses and bursts and fuzzes across the electromagnetic spectrum, until the time when, on worlds a thousand sun systems distant, the pattern would be decoded and read, and it would become a poem once again.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil Gaiman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/we-knew-that-it-would-soon-be-over-and-so-we-put-it-all-into-a-poem/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Astronomy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/we-knew-that-it-would-soon-be-over-and-so-we-put-it-all-into-a-poem/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/674/neil-gaiman-29_astronomy_we-knew-that-it-would-soon-be-over-and-s_1781327.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/674/neil-gaiman-29_astronomy_we-knew-that-it-would-soon-be-over-and-s_1781327.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/674/neil-gaiman-29_astronomy_we-knew-that-it-would-soon-be-over-and-s_1781327.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We knew that it would soon be over, and so we put it all into a poem, to tell the universe who we were, and…” — Neil Gaiman", "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": "Neil Gaiman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We knew that it would soon...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/we-knew-that-it-would-soon-be-over-and-so-we-put-it-all-into-a-poem/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/we-knew-that-it-would-soon-be-over-and-so-we-put-it-all-into-a-poem/#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 } } ] } ```