---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm saying look, here they come, pay…"
description: "\"I'm saying look, here they come, pay attention. Let your eyes transform what appears ordinary, commonplace, into what it is, a moment in time, an obser..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ce/philip-levine-14083_appears_i-m-saying-look-here-they-come-pay-atten_2110545.jpg"
---

#  I'm saying look, here they come, pay attention. Let your…

![“I'm saying look, here they come, pay attention. Let your eyes transform what appears ordinary, commonplace, into what it is, a moment in time, an observed fragment of eternity.” quote by Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ce/philip-levine-14083_appears_i-m-saying-look-here-they-come-pay-atten_2110545.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ce/philip-levine-14083_appears_i-m-saying-look-here-they-come-pay-atten_2110545.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ce/philip-levine-14083_appears_i-m-saying-look-here-they-come-pay-atten_2110545.jpg)

> “I'm saying look, here they come, pay attention. Let your eyes transform what appears ordinary, commonplace, into what it is, a moment in time, an observed fragment of eternity.”

[Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Observe the ordinary closely; it reveals deeper, timeless truths.

**In simple terms:** Seeing everyday things shows hidden meaning.

Key Takeaway

Pay attention to details.

Themes

perception mindfulness beauty time

Mood

contemplative inspired

Type

philosophical poetic

When to use this quote

- walking
- art appreciation
- creative writing

Key Concepts

aesthetics philosophy observation

Questions to Reflect On

- What mundane detail has surprised you?
- How does focused observation affect your creativity?

A Different Perspective

Over‑analysis can strip spontaneity.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes/) [Fragment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragment/) [Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment/) [Moment In Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment-in-time/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [Moments like this act as magical interludes, placing our hearts at the edge of our souls: fleetingly, yet intensely, a fragment of eternity has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/moments-like-this-act-as-magical-interludes-placing-our-hearts-at-the/)

[Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/)

> [“I look and I look... I must have come to the wrong planet. It's so strange here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigbj-rn-obstfelder/i-look-and-i-look-i-must-have-come-to-the-wrong-planet-it-s-so/)

Sigbjørn Obstfelder

> [“If you Don't where you going, look back and see where you have come from”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-aites/if-you-don-t-where-you-going-look-back-and-see-where-you-have-come/)

Jason Aites

> [“Trust to yourself; let our own eyes determine; Be they our tripods, oracles, and gods.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/trust-to-yourself-let-our-own-eyes-determine-be-they-our-tripods/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [They say it's what you make. I say it's up to fate; it's woven in my soul. I need to let you go. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imagine-dragons/they-say-it-s-what-you-make-i-say-it-s-up-to-fate-it-s-woven-in-my/)

[Imagine Dragons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imagine-dragons/)

> [When there are no words, let your eyes do the talking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupaul/when-there-are-no-words-let-your-eyes-do-the-talking/)

[RuPaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupaul/)

> [If my words fail, let my eyes and my heart be my language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mirtha-michelle/if-my-words-fail-let-my-eyes-and-my-heart-be-my-language/)

[Mirtha Michelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mirtha-michelle/)

> [“Hathin stared out across the water and deliberately let her eyes unfocus slightly. It did no good lodging your gaze on the waves as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/hathin-stared-out-across-the-water-and-deliberately-let-her-eyes/)

[Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/)

> [“Let your eyes be blind to all external attractions, your ears deaf to all the fascinations of flattery and light discourse.—These are nothing—and worse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/let-your-eyes-be-blind-to-all-external-attractions-your-ears-deaf-to/)

[Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/)

> [I can tell you how to get what you want: You've just got to keep a thing in view and go for it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-john-locke/i-can-tell-you-how-to-get-what-you-want-you-ve-just-got-to-keep-a/)

[William John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-john-locke/)

> [Don't let your eyes look here and there, and don't look on someone elses' beauty, so that the devil will not conquer you with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ephrem-the-syrian/don-t-let-your-eyes-look-here-and-there-and-don-t-look-on-someone/)

[Ephrem the Syrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ephrem-the-syrian/)

> [“Micah knew the power of a look. When two people touched from across a distance, that touch could be frightening, wary, or a stroke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lora-leigh/micah-knew-the-power-of-a-look-when-two-people-touched-from-across-a/)

[Lora Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lora-leigh/)

> [“To get a better idea try this: focus on these words, and whatever you do don’t let your eyes wander past the perimeter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/to-get-a-better-idea-try-this-focus-on-these-words-and-whatever-you/)

[Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/)

> [So keep your mouth closed &amp; let your eyes listen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/so-keep-your-mouth-closed-let-your-eyes-listen/)

[Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/)

> [“A deviant spark flares in his eyes, daring me to deny him. I don’t. I can’t. He slides his fingers forward, groaning, pushing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/callie-hart/a-deviant-spark-flares-in-his-eyes-daring-me-to-deny-him-i-don-t-i/)

[Callie Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/callie-hart/)

## More by Philip Levine

> [I find you in these tears, few, useless and here at last. Don't come back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/i-find-you-in-these-tears-few-useless-and-here-at-last-don-t-come-back/)

[Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/)

> [I'm afraid we live at the mercy of a power, maybe a God, without mercy. And yet we find it, as I have, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/i-m-afraid-we-live-at-the-mercy-of-a-power-maybe-a-god-without-mercy/)

[Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/)

> [There'll always be working people in my poems because I grew up with them, and I am a poet of memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/there-ll-always-be-working-people-in-my-poems-because-i-grew-up-with/)

[Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/)

> [How weightless/ words are when nothing will do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/how-weightless-words-are-when-nothing-will-do/)

[Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/)

> [But I'm too old to be written about as a young poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/but-i-m-too-old-to-be-written-about-as-a-young-poet/)

[Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/)

> [But most commonly, it's one poem that I work on with a lot of intensity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/but-most-commonly-it-s-one-poem-that-i-work-on-with-a-lot-of-intensity/)

[Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/)

> [“He embodied what he worshipped, the exquisite in the commonplace…salt for the spirit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/he-embodied-what-he-worshipped-the-exquisite-in-the-commonplace-salt/)

[Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/)

> [“As you know, Joyce was a writer who asked his reader to give him a lifetime,” he said. “I am that reader, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/as-you-know-joyce-was-a-writer-who-asked-his-reader-to-give-him-a/)

[Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/)

> [“Thirty years will pass before I remember that moment when suddenly I knew each man has one brother who dies when he sleeps and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/thirty-years-will-pass-before-i-remember-that-moment-when-suddenly-i/)

[Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/)

> [“From they sack and they belly opened And all that was hidden burning on the oil-stained earth They feed they Lion and he comes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/from-they-sack-and-they-belly-opened-and-all-that-was-hidden-burning/)

[Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/)

> [Corruption is subtle, just like the Bible said. Many young poets have come to me and asked, How am I gonna make it? They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/corruption-is-subtle-just-like-the-bible-said-many-young-poets-have/)

[Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/)

> [“ Our Valley We don't see the ocean, not ever, but in July and August when the worst heat seems to rise from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/our-valley-we-don-t-see-the-ocean-not-ever-but-in-july-and-august/)

[Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/)

> [“The earth drinks all that’s left of you and asks for more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/the-earth-drinks-all-that-s-left-of-you-and-asks-for-more/)

[Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/)

> [I started listening to music when I wrote when I had three sons at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/i-started-listening-to-music-when-i-wrote-when-i-had-three-sons-at/)

[Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/)

> [Listen to these young poets and you'll discover the voice of the present and hear the voice of the future before the future is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/listen-to-these-young-poets-and-you-ll-discover-the-voice-of-the/)

[Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/)

[Explore all 48 Philip Levine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/)

## More Appears quotes

> [You know, as somebody who writes op-eds and appears on the television, I appreciate as well as anybody that... there is a limit to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bolton/you-know-as-somebody-who-writes-op-eds-and-appears-on-the-television/)

[John Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bolton/)

> [A man may not always be what he appears to be, but what he appears to be is always a significant part of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/a-man-may-not-always-be-what-he-appears-to-be-but-what-he-appears-to/)

[Willard Gaylin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-gaylin/)

> [I won't divulge the details, but there's a way to call somebody's phone and have whatever number you want appear on the caller I.D.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-malina/i-won-t-divulge-the-details-but-there-s-a-way-to-call-somebody-s/)

[Joshua Malina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-malina/)

> [“Apparuit iam beatitudo vestra' That is, "Now your blessedness appears.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvain-reynard/apparuit-iam-beatitudo-vestra-that-is-now-your-blessedness-appears/)

[Sylvain Reynard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvain-reynard/)

> [“It appears that you were meant to be mine only for a little while.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-sotto/it-appears-that-you-were-meant-to-be-mine-only-for-a-little-while/)

[Samantha Sotto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-sotto/)

> [One is always of his age and especially he who least appears so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/one-is-always-of-his-age-and-especially-he-who-least-appears-so/)

[Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/)

> [The Obama administration's attempted short-term fixes, even with unprecedented monetary easing by the Federal Reserve, produced average GDP growth of just 2.2% over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-hubbard/the-obama-administration-s-attempted-short-term-fixes-even-with/)

[Glenn Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-hubbard/)

> [I don't like fantasy where a king snaps his fingers and suddenly a whole army appears and goes off to war - he's got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-e-feist/i-don-t-like-fantasy-where-a-king-snaps-his-fingers-and-suddenly-a/)

[Raymond E. Feist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-e-feist/)

> [Most of the time, your risk management works. With a systemic event such as the recent shocks following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, obviously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myron-scholes/most-of-the-time-your-risk-management-works-with-a-systemic-event/)

[Myron Scholes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myron-scholes/)

> [What appears on the page comes out of your experience, and no-one is going to see it in quite the same way - so,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-frame/what-appears-on-the-page-comes-out-of-your-experience-and-no-one-is/)

[Ronald Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-frame/)

> [The dream appears to be real. It does really seem we are here in this world; but this is not so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-dream-appears-to-be-real-it-does-really-seem-we-are-here-in-this/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [“The island of Hawaii appears to be developing a Florida climate: Hot and humid with thunderstorms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-island-of-hawaii-appears-to-be-developing-a-florida-climate-hot/)

[Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/)

> [Are you facing a superheated furnace? What God wants is for you to look full in the face of Jesus. Get your focus off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-graham-lotz/are-you-facing-a-superheated-furnace-what-god-wants-is-for-you-to/)

[Anne Graham Lotz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-graham-lotz/)

> [We have met on a solemn occasion, and in this crowded assembly there is one thing that appears important, that is, for every one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-hicks/we-have-met-on-a-solemn-occasion-and-in-this-crowded-assembly-there/)

[Elias Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-hicks/)

> [So many things for me are unfortunate in the commercialization of something that is special. It's like when Led Zeppelin appears in Cadillac commercials.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-carter/so-many-things-for-me-are-unfortunate-in-the-commercialization-of/)

[Chris Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-carter/)

Browse all 162 Appears quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I'm saying look, here they come, pay attention. Let your eyes transform what appears ordinary, commonplace, into what it is, a moment in time, an observed fragment of eternity.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Philip Levine"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/i-m-saying-look-here-they-come-pay-attention-let-your-eyes-transform/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Appears"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/i-m-saying-look-here-they-come-pay-attention-let-your-eyes-transform/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ce/philip-levine-14083_appears_i-m-saying-look-here-they-come-pay-atten_2110545.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ce/philip-levine-14083_appears_i-m-saying-look-here-they-come-pay-atten_2110545.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ce/philip-levine-14083_appears_i-m-saying-look-here-they-come-pay-atten_2110545.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I'm saying look, here they come, pay attention. Let your eyes transform what appears ordinary, commonplace…” — Philip Levine",
                "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 Levine",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I'm saying look, here they come,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/i-m-saying-look-here-they-come-pay-attention-let-your-eyes-transform/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/i-m-saying-look-here-they-come-pay-attention-let-your-eyes-transform/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
