--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No,' he said, 'memory's a poor thing to…" description: "\"No,' he said, 'memory's a poor thing to have. It's your own real hair and mouth and arms and eyes and hands I want. I didn't know I could ever love any..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b6/philip-pullman-525_arms_no-he-said-memory-s-a-poor-thing-to-have_572315.png" --- # No,' he said, 'memory's a poor thing to have. It's your… ![“No,' he said, 'memory's a poor thing to have. It's your own real hair and mouth and arms and eyes and hands I want. I didn't know I could ever love anything so much...” quote by Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b6/philip-pullman-525_arms_no-he-said-memory-s-a-poor-thing-to-have_572315.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b6/philip-pullman-525_arms_no-he-said-memory-s-a-poor-thing-to-have_572315.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b6/philip-pullman-525_arms_no-he-said-memory-s-a-poor-thing-to-have_572315.png) > “No,' he said, 'memory's a poor thing to have. It's your own real hair and mouth and arms and eyes and hands I want. I didn't know I could ever love anything so much...” [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker values tangible, lived experience over abstract memory, seeking direct physical connection and love. **In simple terms:** He prefers real, physical presence to memory. Key Takeaway Cherish real, over memories. Themes love presence memory authenticity Mood reflective intimate Type philosophical emotional When to use this quote - parenting - intimate relationships - grieving loss - seeking authenticity Key Concepts existentialism embodiment human connection Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance memory with present experience? - What does “real” mean to you? A Different Perspective Memories can be unreliable and may hinder present intimacy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hair/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Real hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-hair/) ## Related quotes > [“ A Hard Life With Memory I’m a poor audience for my memory. She wants me to attend her voice nonstop, but I fidget,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wis-awa-szymborska/a-hard-life-with-memory-i-m-a-poor-audience-for-my-memory-she-wants/) [Wisława Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wis-awa-szymborska/) > [Don't let your memory get poor with time. Do the right things to sharpen it ... like... lending me your money!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/green-monk/don-t-let-your-memory-get-poor-with-time-do-the-right-things-to/) [Green Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/green-monk/) > [To have her here in bed with me, breathing on me, her hair in my mouth—I count that something of a miracle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/to-have-her-here-in-bed-with-me-breathing-on-me-her-hair-in-my-mouth/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [An uneasy conscience is a hair in the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/an-uneasy-conscience-is-a-hair-in-the-mouth/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“I’ve got hair in my mouth, because I replaced my teeth with my cat. This makes it more fun to pet my gums.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-ve-got-hair-in-my-mouth-because-i-replaced-my-teeth-with-my-cat/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“She goes on with her beautiful hair and mouth like before, I go on like before, alone in the field. It’s like my head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-caeiro/she-goes-on-with-her-beautiful-hair-and-mouth-like-before-i-go-on/) [Alberto Caeiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-caeiro/) > [“Who was it said that memory is what we thought we’d forgotten?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/who-was-it-said-that-memory-is-what-we-thought-we-d-forgotten/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [We live with such easy assumptions, don't we? For instance, that memory equals events plus time. But it's all much odder than this. Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/we-live-with-such-easy-assumptions-don-t-we-for-instance-that-memory/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“After everything is said and done, a memory remains a treacherous thing…How long does one cling on to the people they’ve lost? How long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanza-javed/after-everything-is-said-and-done-a-memory-remains-a-treacherous/) Kanza Javed > [“There, there, best to bring it all up,' she said. My memory was in shreds. Imagine a photograph cut into narrow strips then jumbled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-jamieson/there-there-best-to-bring-it-all-up-she-said-my-memory-was-in-shreds/) [Alice Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-jamieson/) > [“Judy, I read that you said your first memory was music. Music that fills up a home. And one day, suddenly the music could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-dellaira/judy-i-read-that-you-said-your-first-memory-was-music-music-that/) [Ava Dellaira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-dellaira/) > [She said I bet you dont remember me And I said only every other memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-mcgraw/she-said-i-bet-you-dont-remember-me-and-i-said-only-every-other-memory/) [Tim McGraw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-mcgraw/) > [“There’s a poem about onions,” she said. “It’s about how memory is like an onion—it makes you cry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/there-s-a-poem-about-onions-she-said-it-s-about-how-memory-is-like-an/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“Who was it said that memory is what we thought we'd forgotten? 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And we all find a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-question-authors-get-asked-more-than-any-other-is-where-do-you/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“We are all subject to the fates. But we must all act as if we are not,” said the witch, “or die of despair.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/we-are-all-subject-to-the-fates-but-we-must-all-act-as-if-we-are-not/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Lonely? I don't know. They tell me this is cold. I don't know what cold is, because I don't freeze. 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It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Comerado, this is no book,Who touches this, touches a man,(Is it night? Are we here alone?)It is I you hold, and who holds you,I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/comerado-this-is-no-book-who-touches-this-touches-a-man-is-it-night/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Even the stove and the refrigerator looked human, I mean good human - they seemed to have arms and voices and they said, hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/even-the-stove-and-the-refrigerator-looked-human-i-mean-good-human/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. 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"I'm beginning to look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/another-step-had-her-backed-up-against-the-wall-and-he-braced-his/) [Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/) Browse all 4,470 Arms quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No,' he said, 'memory's a poor thing to have. It's your own real hair and mouth and arms and eyes and hands I want. 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