--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't know how long I've been sitting…" description: "\"“I don't know how long I've been sitting on this park bench. The light is almost all gone, but when there was light I was able to admire the statuary. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40c/nicole-krauss-920_falling_i-don-t-know-how-long-i-ve-been-sitting_1994048.png" --- # I don't know how long I've been sitting on this park… ![“I don't know how long I've been sitting on this park bench. The light is almost all gone, but when there was light I was able to admire the statuary. A bear, a hippo, something with cloven hooves I took to be a goat. On my way I passed a fountain. The basin was dry. I looked to see if there were…” quote by Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40c/nicole-krauss-920_falling_i-don-t-know-how-long-i-ve-been-sitting_1994048.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40c/nicole-krauss-920_falling_i-don-t-know-how-long-i-ve-been-sitting_1994048.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40c/nicole-krauss-920_falling_i-don-t-know-how-long-i-ve-been-sitting_1994048.png) > ““I don't know how long I've been sitting on this park bench. The light is almost all gone, but when there was light I was able to admire the statuary. A bear, a hippo, something with cloven hooves I took to be a goat. On my way I passed a fountain. The basin was dry. I looked to see if there were any pennies at the bottom. But there were only dead leaves. They're everywhere now, falling and falling, turning the world back into earth. Sometimes I forget that the world is not on the same schedule as I. That everything is not dying, or that if it is dying it will return to life, what with a little sun and the usual encouragement. Sometimes I think: I am older than this tree, older than this bench, older than the rain. And yet. I'm not older than the rain. It's been falling for years and after I go it will keep on falling.”” [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Contemplating time and decay reveals life's cycles of loss and renewal. **In simple terms:** Life cycles through loss and renewal. Key Takeaway Embrace impermanence. Themes time impermanence nature memory reflection Mood melancholic thoughtful Type literary poetic When to use this quote - Walking in a park - observing nature - journaling thoughts - grieving loss Key Concepts Existentialism poetic observation Questions to Reflect On - What does the falling rain symbolize for you? - How do you find meaning in fleeting moments? A Different Perspective The passage may romanticize decay without offering hope. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Leaves Falling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaves-falling/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [“Sometimes I forget that the world is not on the same schedule as I. That everything is not dying, or that if it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/sometimes-i-forget-that-the-world-is-not-on-the-same-schedule-as-i-2/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [This is why I'm here on this planet, at this time, Francesca. Not to travel or make pictures, but to love you. I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-james-waller/this-is-why-i-m-here-on-this-planet-at-this-time-francesca-not-to/) [Robert James Waller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-james-waller/) > [“I know what a park bench is and the landlord's knock. There are only two things wrong with money: too much or too little.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-know-what-a-park-bench-is-and-the-landlord-s-knock-there-are-only/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [1. Sit down next to stranger on park bench. 2. Place an envelope beside him. 3. Whisper, It has to look like an accident. 4. Walk away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thegr81/1-sit-down-next-to-stranger-on-park-bench-2-place-an-envelope-beside/) Thegr81 > [“every successful person needs a park bench—”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-barnes/every-successful-person-needs-a-park-bench/) [Jeffrey A. Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-barnes/) > [“Don't push it." Cormac said as he looked back to Burrom. "You'll go under again one day, and I'll find out where you're buried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-augustine/don-t-push-it-cormac-said-as-he-looked-back-to-burrom-you-ll-go-under/) [Donna Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-augustine/) > [There are “bus bench” workouts and “park bench” workouts. A bus bench and a park bench look exactly the same, but your expectations sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-john/there-are-bus-bench-workouts-and-park-bench-workouts-a-bus-bench-and/) [Dan John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-john/) > [On a park bench on 12th street, my whole crew's famous, you try bust your gat and keep it rel but you nameless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prodigy/on-a-park-bench-on-12th-street-my-whole-crew-s-famous-you-try-bust/) [Prodigy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prodigy/) > [Spotted Park Bench I am a park bench. Ordinary words cannot express my thoughts on birds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-patrick-lewis/spotted-park-bench-i-am-a-park-bench-ordinary-words-cannot-express-my/) [J. Patrick Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-patrick-lewis/) > [“Something as simple as sitting next to a lonely girl on a park bench may be enough to deter predators.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-marie-baumgartner/something-as-simple-as-sitting-next-to-a-lonely-girl-on-a-park-bench/) [Jessica Marie Baumgartner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-marie-baumgartner/) > [Sitting on a park bench, eyeing up little girls with bad intent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jethro-tull/sitting-on-a-park-bench-eyeing-up-little-girls-with-bad-intent/) [Jethro Tull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jethro-tull/) > [Now the leaves are falling fast, Nurse’s flowers will not last, Nurses to their graves are gone, But the prams go rolling on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/now-the-leaves-are-falling-fast-nurse-s-flowers-will-not-last-nurses/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [“Watch the beauty of your life tree old leaves falling and allowing new ones to sprout !”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-lima/watch-the-beauty-of-your-life-tree-old-leaves-falling-and-allowing/) Joy Lima > [Autumn is the hardest season. The leaves are all falling, and they're falling like they're falling in love with the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-gibson/autumn-is-the-hardest-season-the-leaves-are-all-falling-and-they-re/) [Andrea Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-gibson/) > [And now, my poor old woman, why are you crying so bitterly? It is autumn. The leaves are falling from the trees like burning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/and-now-my-poor-old-woman-why-are-you-crying-so-bitterly-it-is-autumn/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) ## More by Nicole Krauss > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [I think of novels as houses. You live in them over the course of a long period, both as a reader and as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-think-of-novels-as-houses-you-live-in-them-over-the-course-of-a/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [When we went into the ocean, I watched his body as he dove into the waves, and it gave me a feeling in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/when-we-went-into-the-ocean-i-watched-his-body-as-he-dove-into-the/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“There are times when the kindness of strangers only makes matter worse because one realizes how badly one is in need of kindness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/there-are-times-when-the-kindness-of-strangers-only-makes-matter/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [She was gone, and all that was left was the space where you'd grown around her, like a tree that grows around a fence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/she-was-gone-and-all-that-was-left-was-the-space-where-you-d-grown/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“The air felt different in my lungs. The world no longer looked the same. You change and then you change again. You become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/the-air-felt-different-in-my-lungs-the-world-no-longer-looked-the/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“The first language humans had was gestures. There was nothing primitive about this language that flowed from people’s hands, nothing we say now that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/the-first-language-humans-had-was-gestures-there-was-nothing/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [I feel really strongly about not wanting to overly guide the reader about what he or she should think. I really trust the reader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-feel-really-strongly-about-not-wanting-to-overly-guide-the-reader/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [Mom?" I said. She turned. "Can I talk to you about something?" "Of course, darling. Come here." I took a few steps into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/mom-i-said-she-turned-can-i-talk-to-you-about-something-of-course/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [In one's youth, one has tremendous access to one's feelings. And as one gets older, some of those feelings kind of drift away. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/in-one-s-youth-one-has-tremendous-access-to-one-s-feelings-and-as-one/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [Obviously I've been reading Kafka for a long long time, since I was really young, and even before I ever read him I knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/obviously-i-ve-been-reading-kafka-for-a-long-long-time-since-i-was/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“She's kept her love for him as alive as the summer they first met. In order to do this, she's turned life away. Sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/she-s-kept-her-love-for-him-as-alive-as-the-summer-they-first-met-in/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [Sometimes no length of string is long enough to say the thing that needs to be said. In such cases all the string can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/sometimes-no-length-of-string-is-long-enough-to-say-the-thing-that/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Doesn’t part of the awe that fills us when we confront the unknown come from understanding that, should it at last flood into us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/doesn-t-part-of-the-awe-that-fills-us-when-we-confront-the-unknown/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“I knew how to raise my own child, what did he think it was, a game of Scrabble or Monopoly, there are no rules,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-knew-how-to-raise-my-own-child-what-did-he-think-it-was-a-game-of/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) [Explore all 323 Nicole Krauss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) ## More Falling quotes > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [What if I tell you I'm falling again? what if I tell you I'm willing to stand there till you notice me again? what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana/what-if-i-tell-you-i-m-falling-again-what-if-i-tell-you-i-m-willing/) [Ana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana/) > [“We will all, at some point in our lives, fall. Every single one of us. We shouldn't spend our time trying to avoid falling.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-williams/we-will-all-at-some-point-in-our-lives-fall-every-single-one-of-us-we/) [Nicole Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-williams/) > [When you see how fragile and delicate life can be, all else fades into the background.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-morasca/when-you-see-how-fragile-and-delicate-life-can-be-all-else-fades-into/) [Jenna Morasca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-morasca/) > [“If you ever falling but can't see the bottom be glad you can't because at the bottom it's either a soft land or rocks!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelseigh-ashton/if-you-ever-falling-but-can-t-see-the-bottom-be-glad-you-can-t/) Kelseigh Ashton > [They say that if you give your children too much, they don't get the joy out of work. They just want the unearned things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-rinehart/they-say-that-if-you-give-your-children-too-much-they-don-t-get-the/) [Gina Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-rinehart/) > [Falling for someone who will never notice you no matter how hard you try to get their attention...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/falling-for-someone-who-will-never-notice-you-no-matter-how-hard-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Once upon a time, there was a man as great as the gods… But even the great can tremble with fear. Even the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-e-pearson/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-man-as-great-as-the-gods-but-even-the/) [Mary E. Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-e-pearson/) > [“Falling in love is not the problem; hitting your head on the way down is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/falling-in-love-is-not-the-problem-hitting-your-head-on-the-way-down/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [maybe tonight you're scared of falling, and maybe there's somebody here or somewhere else you're thinking about, worrying over, fretting over, trying to figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/maybe-tonight-you-re-scared-of-falling-and-maybe-there-s-somebody/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [Sometimes when things seem to be falling apart, they are actually falling into place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-when-things-seem-to-be-falling-apart-they-are-actually/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The tides which flow and lapse in the Bristol Channel are often distained by the freshets of many streams falling through wooded coombes below…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-williamson/the-tides-which-flow-and-lapse-in-the-bristol-channel-are-often/) [Henry Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-williamson/) > [Remember those walls I built? Well, baby they're tumbling down And they didn't even put up a fight They didn't even make a sound.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prettyblueeyes/remember-those-walls-i-built-well-baby-they-re-tumbling-down-and-they/) PrettyBlueEyes > [“When you were young you talked about "falling in love" with such amusing gravity, as if it were an actual recordable event, when what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/when-you-were-young-you-talked-about-falling-in-love-with-such/) [Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/) Browse all 2,510 Falling quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I don't know how long I've been sitting on this park bench. The light is almost all gone, but when there was light I was able to admire the statuary. A bear, a hippo, something with cloven hooves I took to be a goat. On my way I passed a fountain. The basin was dry. I looked to see if there were any pennies at the bottom. But there were only dead leaves. They're everywhere now, falling and falling, turning the world back into earth. Sometimes I forget that the world is not on the same schedule as I. That everything is not dying, or that if it is dying it will return to life, what with a little sun and the usual encouragement. Sometimes I think: I am older than this tree, older than this bench, older than the rain. And yet. I'm not older than the rain. 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