--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Between the sleeping and the waking, it…" description: "\"“Between the sleeping and the waking, it is there. Between the rising and the resting, it is there. It is always there. It gnaws on my heart. It chews ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/rick-yancey-831_lamentation_between-the-sleeping-and-the-waking-it-i_2548736.jpg" --- # Between the sleeping and the waking, it is there. Between… ![“Between the sleeping and the waking, it is there. Between the rising and the resting, it is there. It is always there. It gnaws on my heart. It chews on my soul. I turn aside and see it. I stop my ears and hear it. I cover myself and feel it. There are no human words for what I mean. It is the…” quote by Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/rick-yancey-831_lamentation_between-the-sleeping-and-the-waking-it-i_2548736.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/rick-yancey-831_lamentation_between-the-sleeping-and-the-waking-it-i_2548736.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/rick-yancey-831_lamentation_between-the-sleeping-and-the-waking-it-i_2548736.jpg) > ““Between the sleeping and the waking, it is there. Between the rising and the resting, it is there. It is always there. It gnaws on my heart. It chews on my soul. I turn aside and see it. I stop my ears and hear it. I cover myself and feel it. There are no human words for what I mean. It is the language of the bare bough and the cold stone, pronounced in the fell wind's sullen whisper and the metronomic drip-drip of the rain. It is the song the falling snow sings and the discordant clamour of sunlight ripped apart by the canopy and miserly filtered down. It is what the unseeing eye sees. It is what the deaf ear heres. It is the romantic ballad of death's embrace; the solemn hymn of offal dripping from bloody teeth; the lamentation of the bloated corpse rotting in the sun; the graceful ballet of maggots twisting in the ruins of God's temple. Here in this gray land, we have no name. We are the carcasses reflected in the yellow eye. Our bones are bleached within our skin; our empty sockets regard the crow. Here in this shadow country, our tiny voices scratch like a fly's wing against unmoving air. Ours is the language of imbeciles, the gibberish of idiots. The root and the vine have more to say than us.”” [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes an overwhelming, indescribable sense of decay and horror that pervades all perception. **In simple terms:** A deep, pervasive dread that words cannot capture. Key Takeaway Acknowledge the ineffable aspects of suffering. Themes death decay existential dread perception language Mood somber intense Type literary poetic When to use this quote - grief processing - artistic expression - philosophical contemplation - mental health awareness Key Concepts nihilism existentialism poetic horror Questions to Reflect On - How do you confront feelings that defy language? - What role does art play in expressing the inexpressible? A Different Perspective The vivid imagery may alienate readers seeking clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Lamentation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lamentation/) [Solemn Hymn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solemn-hymn-1500664/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Unseeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unseeing-623604/) [Waking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waking/) ## Related quotes > [it is as unseeing to ask what is the use of poetry as it would be to ask what is the use of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/it-is-as-unseeing-to-ask-what-is-the-use-of-poetry-as-it-would-be-to/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [Up here my eyes are green leaves, unseeing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/up-here-my-eyes-are-green-leaves-unseeing/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“A lot of people unsee a lot of things, every day. Think about it. Every day you go around, stepping over some guy out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-portes/a-lot-of-people-unsee-a-lot-of-things-every-day-think-about-it-every/) [Andrea Portes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-portes/) > [“What earth is this so in want of you they rise up on high to seek you in heaven? Look at them staring at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mansur-al-hallaj/what-earth-is-this-so-in-want-of-you-they-rise-up-on-high-to-seek-you/) [Mansur al-Hallaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mansur-al-hallaj/) > [“Unseeing, even when seen unfeeling, even when felt, to those scattered loves and the abashment that meet the eyes, I had tried to brush…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suman-pokhrel/unseeing-even-when-seen-unfeeling-even-when-felt-to-those-scattered/) [Suman Pokhrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suman-pokhrel/) > [“See as much as you can see, I guess. Rachel Carson said most of us go through life "unseeing." I do that some days...I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-lynch/see-as-much-as-you-can-see-i-guess-rachel-carson-said-most-of-us-go/) [Jim Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-lynch/) > [Jerusalem is a festival and a lamentation. Its song is a sigh across the ages, a delicate, robust, mournful psalm at the great junction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-shipler/jerusalem-is-a-festival-and-a-lamentation-its-song-is-a-sigh-across/) [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) > [“When situated in the transcendental position, one is freed from the two kinds of material diseases – hankering and lamentation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-situated-in-the-transcendental-position-one-is-freed-from-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Great were the lamentation and the cry when the news of this mischance was noised about the city. Such a tumult of mourning was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-de-france/great-were-the-lamentation-and-the-cry-when-the-news-of-this/) [Marie de France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-de-france/) > [It's a great wonder to me, the Irish attachment to our history. What is it but a series of lamentations?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-salisbury-davis/it-s-a-great-wonder-to-me-the-irish-attachment-to-our-history-what-is/) [Dorothy Salisbury Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-salisbury-davis/) > [Every class of society has its cant of lamentation, which is understood or regarded by none but themselves; and every part of life has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/every-class-of-society-has-its-cant-of-lamentation-which-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Let no one honour me with tears, or bury me with lamentation. Why? Because I fly hither and thither, living in the mouths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/let-no-one-honour-me-with-tears-or-bury-me-with-lamentation-why/) [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) > [Men ought to know that from nothing else but the brain come joys, delights, laughter and sports, and sorrows, griefs, despondency, and lamentations. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/men-ought-to-know-that-from-nothing-else-but-the-brain-come-joys/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [Alexander wept when he heard from Anaxarchus that there was an infinite number of worlds; and his friends asking him if any accident had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/alexander-wept-when-he-heard-from-anaxarchus-that-there-was-an/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [Time is never more misspent than while we declaim against the want of it; all our actions are then tinctured with peevishness. The yoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/time-is-never-more-misspent-than-while-we-declaim-against-the-want-of/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) ## More by Rick Yancey > [“Don't you get it yet? The minute we decide that one person doesn't matter anymore, they've won."..."Beneath a sky crowded with a billion stars.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/don-t-you-get-it-yet-the-minute-we-decide-that-one-person-doesn-t/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [The way we learn to write is the way we learn to talk: We listen to others and start mimicking speech, and that's how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/the-way-we-learn-to-write-is-the-way-we-learn-to-talk-we-listen-to/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [I have a very low tolerance for boredom and often think I would have missed out on books entirely if Id grown up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-have-a-very-low-tolerance-for-boredom-and-often-think-i-would-have/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [There are things that are too terrible to remember, and there are things that are almost too wonderful to recall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/there-are-things-that-are-too-terrible-to-remember-and-there-are/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [I've loved sci-fi and speculative fiction since I was a kid. It was inevitable I'd try my hand at it at some point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-ve-loved-sci-fi-and-speculative-fiction-since-i-was-a-kid-it-was/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [“I can’t leave him. I made a promise.” I start to explain it, but I don’t even know how to begin. How do I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-can-t-leave-him-i-made-a-promise-i-start-to-explain-it-but-i-don-t/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [“That's my big problem. That's it! Before the Arrival,guys like Evan Walker never looked twice at me, much less shot wild game for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/that-s-my-big-problem-that-s-it-before-the-arrival-guys-like-evan/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [I'm one, too," he said. "What?" He spit a wad of blood and mucus into the dirt. "A virgin." What a shock. "What makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-m-one-too-he-said-what-he-spit-a-wad-of-blood-and-mucus-into-the/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [Good God, man, what is that smell?" He eyed with disgust the doctor's filthy cloak. "Life," answered the doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/good-god-man-what-is-that-smell-he-eyed-with-disgust-the-doctor-s/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [“He drops into the room, landing on the balls of his feet like a cat. I'm in his arms in the time it takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/he-drops-into-the-room-landing-on-the-balls-of-his-feet-like-a-cat-i/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [“All things do happen for a reason... . Is this not the foundation of our faith? You are here-all of us-because we are but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/all-things-do-happen-for-a-reason-is-this-not-the-foundation-of-our/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [“Her raised his face to the weeping sky, closed his dark eyes, and sighed deeply, a smile playing on his sensuous lips. "The bloody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/her-raised-his-face-to-the-weeping-sky-closed-his-dark-eyes-and/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [To hold on, you have to find something you’re willing to die for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/to-hold-on-you-have-to-find-something-you-re-willing-to-die-for/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [I brought Sammy inside and put him to bed. Said his prayer with him. “‘Now I lay me down to sleep…’” To me, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-brought-sammy-inside-and-put-him-to-bed-said-his-prayer-with-him/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [A moment comes in war when the last line must be crossed. The line that separates what you hold dear from what total war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/a-moment-comes-in-war-when-the-last-line-must-be-crossed-the-line/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) [Explore all 342 Rick Yancey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) ## More Lamentation quotes > [Time is never more misspent than while we declaim against the want of it; all our actions are then tinctured with peevishness. The yoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/time-is-never-more-misspent-than-while-we-declaim-against-the-want-of/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [Alexander wept when he heard from Anaxarchus that there was an infinite number of worlds; and his friends asking him if any accident had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/alexander-wept-when-he-heard-from-anaxarchus-that-there-was-an/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [Men ought to know that from nothing else but the brain come joys, delights, laughter and sports, and sorrows, griefs, despondency, and lamentations. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/men-ought-to-know-that-from-nothing-else-but-the-brain-come-joys/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [Let no one honour me with tears, or bury me with lamentation. Why? Because I fly hither and thither, living in the mouths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/let-no-one-honour-me-with-tears-or-bury-me-with-lamentation-why/) [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) > [Every class of society has its cant of lamentation, which is understood or regarded by none but themselves; and every part of life has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/every-class-of-society-has-its-cant-of-lamentation-which-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It's a great wonder to me, the Irish attachment to our history. What is it but a series of lamentations?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-salisbury-davis/it-s-a-great-wonder-to-me-the-irish-attachment-to-our-history-what-is/) [Dorothy Salisbury Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-salisbury-davis/) > [Great were the lamentation and the cry when the news of this mischance was noised about the city. Such a tumult of mourning was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-de-france/great-were-the-lamentation-and-the-cry-when-the-news-of-this/) [Marie de France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-de-france/) > [“When situated in the transcendental position, one is freed from the two kinds of material diseases – hankering and lamentation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-situated-in-the-transcendental-position-one-is-freed-from-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jerusalem is a festival and a lamentation. Its song is a sigh across the ages, a delicate, robust, mournful psalm at the great junction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-shipler/jerusalem-is-a-festival-and-a-lamentation-its-song-is-a-sigh-across/) [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) > [There sighs, lamentations and loud wailings resounded through the starless air, so that at first it made me weep; strange tongues, horrible language, words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/there-sighs-lamentations-and-loud-wailings-resounded-through-the/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [A young man had become possessed by a devil. The thing within him burst into loud lamentation and departed from the man. At once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/a-young-man-had-become-possessed-by-a-devil-the-thing-within-him/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [There was much woe and lamentation in the seventies that the game was dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/there-was-much-woe-and-lamentation-in-the-seventies-that-the-game-was/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [I confess, without shame, that I am sick and tired of fighting — its glory is all moonshine; even success the most brilliant is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-tecumseh-sherman/i-confess-without-shame-that-i-am-sick-and-tired-of-fighting-its/) [William Tecumseh Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-tecumseh-sherman/) > [If I have learned one thing in my life, it is that lamentation and regrets only make things worse. A person must move on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-heath/if-i-have-learned-one-thing-in-my-life-it-is-that-lamentation-and/) [Lorraine Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-heath/) > [“If the years have taught me one thing it's that those who care are always scarce. Those who genuinely care; not the acquaintances, false…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darrell-drake/if-the-years-have-taught-me-one-thing-it-s-that-those-who-care-are/) [Darrell Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darrell-drake/) [Browse all 61 Lamentation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lamentation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Between the sleeping and the waking, it is there. Between the rising and the resting, it is there. It is always there. It gnaws on my heart. It chews on my soul. I turn aside and see it. I stop my ears and hear it. I cover myself and feel it. There are no human words for what I mean. It is the language of the bare bough and the cold stone, pronounced in the fell wind's sullen whisper and the metronomic drip-drip of the rain. It is the song the falling snow sings and the discordant clamour of sunlight ripped apart by the canopy and miserly filtered down. It is what the unseeing eye sees. It is what the deaf ear heres. It is the romantic ballad of death's embrace; the solemn hymn of offal dripping from bloody teeth; the lamentation of the bloated corpse rotting in the sun; the graceful ballet of maggots twisting in the ruins of God's temple. Here in this gray land, we have no name. We are the carcasses reflected in the yellow eye. Our bones are bleached within our skin; our empty sockets regard the crow. Here in this shadow country, our tiny voices scratch like a fly's wing against unmoving air. Ours is the language of imbeciles, the gibberish of idiots. 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