Coming home Quote by Robert Lowell
““That was the first growth, the heir of all my minutes, the victim of every ramification- more and more it grew green, and gave too much shelter. And now at my homecoming, the barked elms stand up like sticks along the street. I am a foot taller than when I left, and cannot see the dirt at my feet. Yet sometimes I catch my vague mind circling with a glazed eye for a name without a face, or a face without a name, and at every step, I startle them. They start up, dog-eared, bald as baby birds.””
About This Quote
Source Poem: “The Day of the Triffids” (published 1962) – excerpt from Lowell’s collection
The speaker reflects on personal growth and the passage of time, noting how memories and identity become tangled and elusive as one ages.
In simple terms: Aging blurs identity and memories.
Key Takeaway
Embrace change, seek clarity.
Themes
identity
memory
growth
time
reflection
Mood
nostalgic
contemplative
melancholic
Type
literary
reflective
When to use this quote
- personal introspection
- midlife crisis
- creative writing
- mental health
- family dynamics
Key Concepts
existentialism
psychology
literary metaphor
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you recognize yourself amid change?
- What anchors your identity?
A Different Perspective
Memory can be unreliable and distort self‑perception.
![“That country [Carthage] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws; and every step of intestine discord was marked by some deplorable victory of savage man over civilized society.” quote by Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/70c/edward-gibbon-710_barbarism_that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinkin_393.jpg)
