--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Perhaps it's something other than…" description: "\"“Perhaps it's something other than insomnia, to lie listening to children yelling as if they've re-created light; to try to dream, but succeed only in ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de6/stuart-dybek-30029_another-day_perhaps-it-s-something-other-than-insomn_411368.jpg" --- # Perhaps it's something other than insomnia, to lie… ![“Perhaps it's something other than insomnia, to lie listening to children yelling as if they've re-created light; to try to dream, but succeed only in remembering; to toss and sweat in a dirty paste of sheets, while the drone of a ball game is gradually replaced by the buzz of a fly -- a fly…” quote by Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de6/stuart-dybek-30029_another-day_perhaps-it-s-something-other-than-insomn_411368.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de6/stuart-dybek-30029_another-day_perhaps-it-s-something-other-than-insomn_411368.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de6/stuart-dybek-30029_another-day_perhaps-it-s-something-other-than-insomn_411368.jpg) > ““Perhaps it's something other than insomnia, to lie listening to children yelling as if they've re-created light; to try to dream, but succeed only in remembering; to toss and sweat in a dirty paste of sheets, while the drone of a ball game is gradually replaced by the buzz of a fly -- a fly buzzing like the empty frequencies between stations as its shadow grows enormous between the shade and windowpane. Is it insomnia for a man to wad his ears with the cotton from a pill bottle, to mask his eyes with blinders, and press a stale pillow over his head, praying for another day to burn down, so he can wake into another night?”” [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator describes sleeplessness filled with chaotic sensory details, reflecting inner turmoil and a yearning for escape. **In simple terms:** Insomnia is portrayed as noisy, restless, and desperate. Key Takeaway Seek calm and address underlying anxieties. Themes insomnia mental health sensory overload desperation escape Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - sleep disorders - creative writing - mental health coping - nighttime routines - personal reflection Key Concepts nighttime anxiety psychological distress creative metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your sleeplessness? - How can you create a soothing bedtime environment? A Different Perspective The vivid description may romanticize suffering, overlooking practical solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Another day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-day/) [Ball game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ball-game/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Fly Buzzing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fly-buzzing-1629386/) [Insomnia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insomnia/) [Insomnia Lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insomnia-lie-3667561/) [Insomnia Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insomnia-man-3667562/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Windowpane Insomnia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/windowpane-insomnia-3667563/) ## Related quotes > [Haters like fly's, always buzzing in peoples ear to get their attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamiee-leen/haters-like-fly-s-always-buzzing-in-peoples-ear-to-get-their-attention/) [Jamiee Leen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamiee-leen/) > [The mind of the greatest man on earth is not so independent of circumstances as not to feel inconvenienced by the merest buzzing noise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-mind-of-the-greatest-man-on-earth-is-not-so-independent-of/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Its at night, when perhaps we should be dreaming, that the mind is most clear, that we are most able to hold all our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/its-at-night-when-perhaps-we-should-be-dreaming-that-the-mind-is-most/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) > [We try not using medications initially, and we use something called behavioral therapy for insomnia. This changes behaviors people do in bed, none of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-harris/we-try-not-using-medications-initially-and-we-use-something-called/) [Shelby Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-harris/) > [Use insomnia to do something more than insomnia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/use-insomnia-to-do-something-more-than-insomnia/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [O polished perturbation! golden care! That keep'st the ports of slumber open wide To many a watchful night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-polished-perturbation-golden-care-that-keep-st-the-ports-of-slumber/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The mania started with insomnia and not eating and being driven, driven to find an apartment, driven to see everybody, driven to do New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-duke/the-mania-started-with-insomnia-and-not-eating-and-being-driven/) [Patty Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-duke/) > [Don't fight with the pillow, but lay down your head And kick every worriment out of the bed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-vance-cooke/don-t-fight-with-the-pillow-but-lay-down-your-head-and-kick-every/) [Edmund Vance Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-vance-cooke/) > [My life has been regulated by insomnia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/my-life-has-been-regulated-by-insomnia/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [I'm so tired, but I can't sleep. Standing on the edge of something much too deep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mclachlan/i-m-so-tired-but-i-can-t-sleep-standing-on-the-edge-of-something-much/) [Sarah McLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mclachlan/) > [Unfortunately, I suffer from insomnia, so my bedtime is as soon as I start to feel the least bit sleepy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheyenne-jackson/unfortunately-i-suffer-from-insomnia-so-my-bedtime-is-as-soon-as-i/) [Cheyenne Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheyenne-jackson/) > [“Right now I can't even control my own imagination as it grips my hair and drags me into the dark”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/right-now-i-can-t-even-control-my-own-imagination-as-it-grips-my-hair/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [For me being depressed means you can spend all day in bed, and still not get a good night's rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-guest/for-me-being-depressed-means-you-can-spend-all-day-in-bed-and-still/) [Judith Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-guest/) > [ When they \[people with insomnia\] start worrying about not sleeping, I'll say, "Say the mantra to myself; if I don't sleep tonight, I'll likely… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-harris/when-they-people-with-insomnia-start-worrying-about-not-sleeping-i-ll/) [Shelby Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-harris/) > [“If you go to bed too early and get up too late you probably won't sleep especially well. This could show up as either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-a-lewis/if-you-go-to-bed-too-early-and-get-up-too-late-you-probably-won-t/) [Penelope A. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-a-lewis/) ## More by Stuart Dybek > [Our plans for the future made us laugh and feel close, but those same plans somehow made anything more than temporary between us seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/our-plans-for-the-future-made-us-laugh-and-feel-close-but-those-same/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [Héctor Tobar's accomplished first novel affords a perspective that is overdue and urgently needed in North American literature- -an insider's vision of L.A. as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/h-ctor-tobar-s-accomplished-first-novel-affords-a-perspective-that-is/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [“Rather than feeling that every moment you’ve got to exert this enormous control, you can take the attitude that your job as a writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/rather-than-feeling-that-every-moment-you-ve-got-to-exert-this/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [In 'Labor Day Hurricane, 1935,' Douglas Trevor vividly recreates a historical event. While that is the only story in A THIN TEAR IN THE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/in-labor-day-hurricane-1935-douglas-trevor-vividly-recreates-a/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [Loaded with note cards for research papers that I was hopelessly behind on, I'd enter the Public Library only to end up wandering around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/loaded-with-note-cards-for-research-papers-that-i-was-hopelessly/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [“Sometimes, in a tight game with runners on, digging in at short, ready to break with the ball, a peace I'd never felt before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/sometimes-in-a-tight-game-with-runners-on-digging-in-at-short-ready/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [But we didn't, not in the moonlight, or by the phosphorescent lanterns of lightning bugs in your back yard, not beneath the constellations we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/but-we-didn-t-not-in-the-moonlight-or-by-the-phosphorescent-lanterns/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [The public library is where place and possibility meet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/the-public-library-is-where-place-and-possibility-meet/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [“I had this sudden awareness,' she continues, 'of how the moments of our lives go out of existence before we're conscious of having lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/i-had-this-sudden-awareness-she-continues-of-how-the-moments-of-our/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [“In summer, waiting for night, we’d pose against the afterglow on corners, watching traffic cruise through the neighborhood. Sometimes, a car would go by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/in-summer-waiting-for-night-we-d-pose-against-the-afterglow-on/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [“What art does is give us the refinement, all the shades of meaning, of emoting, that we don’t have language for. What fascinates me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/what-art-does-is-give-us-the-refinement-all-the-shades-of-meaning-of/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [From its aptly noirish title on, Martin Preib's The Wagon has rightness of authenticity about it. From the perspective of a cop he fashions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/from-its-aptly-noirish-title-on-martin-preib-s-the-wagon-has/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [Love, it’s such a night, laced with running water, irreparable, riddled with a million leaks. A night shaped like a shadow thrown by your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/love-it-s-such-a-night-laced-with-running-water-irreparable-riddled/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [In creation myths, a god shapes mud or clay into living form, much like a potter throws a pot or a sculptor reveals the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/in-creation-myths-a-god-shapes-mud-or-clay-into-living-form-much-like/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [“I had this sudden awareness, she continues, of how the moments of our lives go out of existence before we're conscious of having lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/i-had-this-sudden-awareness-she-continues-of-how-the-moments-of-our-2/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) [Explore all 17 Stuart Dybek quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) ## More Another day quotes > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [“We have no idea, now, of who or what the inhabitants of our future might be. In that sense, we have no future. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/we-have-no-idea-now-of-who-or-what-the-inhabitants-of-our-future/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [A very small percentage of the people in this world will actually experience and live today. So many people will be stuck on another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/a-very-small-percentage-of-the-people-in-this-world-will-actually/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [“TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY. Not true. Today is another day. We have no idea what tomorrow is going to be. It might turn out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/tomorrow-is-another-day-not-true-today-is-another-day-we-have-no-idea/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Consider developing your whole self with the same raw focus and intensity that you develop a particular skill set. Get focused. Go out, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-holden/consider-developing-your-whole-self-with-the-same-raw-focus-and/) [Anthony Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-holden/) > [David Rockefeller is the most conspicuous representative today of the ruling class, a multinational fraternity of men who shape the global economy and manage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/david-rockefeller-is-the-most-conspicuous-representative-today-of-the/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [If you live for today you can live another day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalya-johnson/if-you-live-for-today-you-can-live-another-day/) [Natalya Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalya-johnson/) > [Today isn't just another day off, it's a day to remember those who have sacrificed their life for your FREEDOM. Happy Memorial Day!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/today-isn-t-just-another-day-off-it-s-a-day-to-remember-those-who/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [Another day is another blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mhaj-porras/another-day-is-another-blessing/) [Mhaj Porras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mhaj-porras/) > [You load 16 tons, and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt. St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-travis/you-load-16-tons-and-what-do-you-get-another-day-older-and-deeper-in/) [Merle Travis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-travis/) > [“Dawn. Another day is given us, R’hllor be praised.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/dawn-another-day-is-given-us-r-hllor-be-praised/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“Just another day in my life. This was one of those days when I thought that maybe a new life, a different life, wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/just-another-day-in-my-life-this-was-one-of-those-days-when-i-thought/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Another day, Another blessing and Another chance at life. Take nothing for granted and think of every breath as a gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/another-day-another-blessing-and-another-chance-at-life-take-nothing/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [Life is too short to spend another day at war with yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/life-is-too-short-to-spend-another-day-at-war-with-yourself/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Another day feeling unimportant. I should really consider being a back up singer...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/another-day-feeling-unimportant-i-should-really-consider-being-a-back/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 1,021 Another day quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-day/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Perhaps it's something other than insomnia, to lie listening to children yelling as if they've re-created light; to try to dream, but succeed only in remembering; to toss and sweat in a dirty paste of sheets, while the drone of a ball game is gradually replaced by the buzz of a fly -- a fly buzzing like the empty frequencies between stations as its shadow grows enormous between the shade and windowpane. 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