--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whether they forget What they wanted…" description: "\"Whether they forget What they wanted first or not They tarnish at quiet anchor.\" — Philip Larkin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e8/philip-larkin-1822_forget_whether-they-forget-what-they-wanted-fir_596494.jpg" --- # Whether they forget What they wanted first or not They… ![“Whether they forget What they wanted first or not They tarnish at quiet anchor.” quote by Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e8/philip-larkin-1822_forget_whether-they-forget-what-they-wanted-fir_596494.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e8/philip-larkin-1822_forget_whether-they-forget-what-they-wanted-fir_596494.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e8/philip-larkin-1822_forget_whether-they-forget-what-they-wanted-fir_596494.jpg) > “Whether they forget What they wanted first or not They tarnish at quiet anchor.” [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often abandon their original intentions, leading to a loss of direction and purpose. **In simple terms:** Forgetting goals leads to aimlessness. Key Takeaway Stay true to your original purpose. Themes identity forgetfulness purpose direction reflection Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - personal development - relationship goals - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism psychology memory Questions to Reflect On - What core values guide your decisions? - How do you reclaim forgotten aspirations? A Different Perspective Changing circumstances can make original goals irrelevant. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Forget Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget-wanted-3636075/) [Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet/) [Quiet Anchor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet-anchor-4871030/) [Tarnish Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tarnish-quiet-4871031/) [Things happen for a reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-happen-for-a-reason/) ## Related quotes > [I have learned that while your putting your record together you can get so caught up in making what you want that you forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/labrinth/i-have-learned-that-while-your-putting-your-record-together-you-can/) [Labrinth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/labrinth/) > [I was thinking about the first time I ever saw you and how after that I couldn't forget you. 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War on the destiny of man! Doom on the sun! Before death takes you, O take back this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/war-on-the-destiny-of-man-doom-on-the-sun-before-death-takes-you-o/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Lt. Carson: My grandmother was a full-bodied Cherokee Indian. Lili: How exciting. Lt. 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There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Which people take the time to care for their souls, these days? I reckon not many. 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The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [People are disturbed not by things but by the view they take of them. They may forget what you said, but they will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [I don't think people will ever forget I was an 'Angel,' anymore than they'll forget Sally Field was 'The Flying Nun.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-don-t-think-people-will-ever-forget-i-was-an-angel-anymore-than/) [Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/) > [If God knows me I will never forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trunxbeats/if-god-knows-me-i-will-never-forget-him/) [Trunxbeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trunxbeats/) > [Our memory is a monster; you forget it - it does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/our-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-it-does-not/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) [Browse all 11,315 Forget quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Whether they forget What they wanted first or not They tarnish at quiet anchor.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip Larkin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/whether-they-forget-what-they-wanted-first-or-not-they-tarnish-at/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Forget" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/whether-they-forget-what-they-wanted-first-or-not-they-tarnish-at/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e8/philip-larkin-1822_forget_whether-they-forget-what-they-wanted-fir_596494.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e8/philip-larkin-1822_forget_whether-they-forget-what-they-wanted-fir_596494.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e8/philip-larkin-1822_forget_whether-they-forget-what-they-wanted-fir_596494.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Whether they forget What they wanted first or not They tarnish at quiet anchor.” — Philip Larkin", "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": "Philip Larkin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Whether they forget What they wanted...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/whether-they-forget-what-they-wanted-first-or-not-they-tarnish-at/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/whether-they-forget-what-they-wanted-first-or-not-they-tarnish-at/#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 } } ] } ```