--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am inhabited by a cry. Nightly it flaps…" description: "\"“I am inhabited by a cry. Nightly it flaps out Looking, with its hooks, for something to love I am terrified by this dark thing That sleeps in me; All ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f75/sylvia-plath-149_feel_i-am-inhabited-by-a-cry-nightly-it-flaps_2691341.jpg" --- # I am inhabited by a cry. Nightly it flaps out Looking… ![“I am inhabited by a cry. Nightly it flaps out Looking, with its hooks, for something to love I am terrified by this dark thing That sleeps in me; All day I feel its soft, feathery turnings, its malignity.” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f75/sylvia-plath-149_feel_i-am-inhabited-by-a-cry-nightly-it-flaps_2691341.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f75/sylvia-plath-149_feel_i-am-inhabited-by-a-cry-nightly-it-flaps_2691341.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f75/sylvia-plath-149_feel_i-am-inhabited-by-a-cry-nightly-it-flaps_2691341.jpg) > ““I am inhabited by a cry. Nightly it flaps out Looking, with its hooks, for something to love I am terrified by this dark thing That sleeps in me; All day I feel its soft, feathery turnings, its malignity.”” [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A deep, haunting yearning for love and connection, juxtaposed with fear of the darkness within. **In simple terms:** Longing for love while fearing inner darkness. Key Takeaway Embrace vulnerability, seek healthy love. Themes loneliness fear desire identity mental health Mood melancholic introspective Type poetic literary When to use this quote - Romantic relationships - therapy sessions - creative writing - self‑care routines Key Concepts Existential longing self‑reflection psychological conflict Questions to Reflect On - How does fear shape your search for love? - What can you do to soothe the inner darkness? A Different Perspective The quote romanticizes suffering, overlooking practical steps toward healing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Day Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day-feel/) [Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel/) [Inhabited Nightly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inhabited-nightly-2536660/) [Terrified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrified/) [Terrified Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrified-dark-285753/) ## Related quotes > [I am terrified by this dark thing That sleeps in me; All day I feel its soft, feathery turnings, its malignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-am-terrified-by-this-dark-thing-that-sleeps-in-me-all-day-i-feel/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I am terrified by this dark thing that sleeps in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-am-terrified-by-this-dark-thing-that-sleeps-in-me/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I am inhabited by a cry. Nightly it flaps out Looking, with its hooks, for something to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-am-inhabited-by-a-cry-nightly-it-flaps-out-looking-with-its-hooks/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I am terrified by this dark thing That sleeps in me; All day I feel its soft, feathery turnings, its malignity. Clouds pass and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-am-terrified-by-this-dark-thing-that-sleeps-in-me-all-day-i-feel-2/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I was terrified of the dark. And not just as a very young child, either. I'm talking all the way up until I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-pereira/i-was-terrified-of-the-dark-and-not-just-as-a-very-young-child-either/) [Alex Pereira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-pereira/) > [“Some men are terrified by the dark nature of the Moon, but not the Devil. The Devil is afraid of nothing he can fuck.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanya-thompson/some-men-are-terrified-by-the-dark-nature-of-the-moon-but-not-the/) [Tanya Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanya-thompson/) > [“Al, you're the most wonderful man I've ever been terrified by down a dark alleyway. Will you marry me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-merrow/al-you-re-the-most-wonderful-man-i-ve-ever-been-terrified-by-down-a/) [J.L. Merrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-merrow/) > [The saddest part isn't that with each passing day I feel like I need you more, but its the fact that you don't need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-saddest-part-isn-t-that-with-each-passing-day-i-feel-like-i-need/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Each day that I will not along with you, where I feel that I love you more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/each-day-that-i-will-not-along-with-you-where-i-feel-that-i-love-you/) [Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/) > [It's easy for me to not use my phone for the whole day. I feel like because of books, I can find more balance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iga-swiatek/it-s-easy-for-me-to-not-use-my-phone-for-the-whole-day-i-feel-like/) [Iga Swiatek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iga-swiatek/) > [I write all day every day, so when I feel unproductive, it magnifies everything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-butler/i-write-all-day-every-day-so-when-i-feel-unproductive-it-magnifies/) [Blake Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-butler/) > [When you have a bad day, a better day will come. It's not when you are having a bad day that you feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-onana/when-you-have-a-bad-day-a-better-day-will-come-it-s-not-when-you-are/) [Andre Onana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-onana/) > [That's just baseball. One day you feel like you can't square anything up and the next day you get a couple that squeak through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-crawford/that-s-just-baseball-one-day-you-feel-like-you-can-t-square-anything/) [Brandon Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-crawford/) > [Every day I feel different about music, but what never changes is my love for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-rock/every-day-i-feel-different-about-music-but-what-never-changes-is-my/) [Kid Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-rock/) > [No matter what you do or say, there will always be a day where its all about you. Where everyone tells you how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinahi-martinez/no-matter-what-you-do-or-say-there-will-always-be-a-day-where-its-all/) [Sinahi Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinahi-martinez/) ## More by Sylvia Plath > [“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-was-a-queer-sultry-summer-the-summer-they-electrocuted-the/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I love life. But it is hard and I have so much, so very much to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-life-but-it-is-hard-and-i-have-so-much-so-very-much-to-learn/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [... These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. ... --Lady Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/these-are-my-hands-my-knees-i-may-be-skin-and-bone-nevertheless-i-am/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. Now I am living on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/sure-i-m-dramatic-and-sloppily-semi-cynical-and-semi-sentimental-but/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“People were made of nothing so much as dust, and I couldn't see that doctoring all that dust was a bit better than writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/people-were-made-of-nothing-so-much-as-dust-and-i-couldn-t-see-that/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I couldn't stand the idea of a woman having to have a single pure life and a man being able to have a double…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-couldn-t-stand-the-idea-of-a-woman-having-to-have-a-single-pure/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I saw the gooseflesh on my skin. I did not know what made it. I was not cold. Had a ghost passed over? No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-saw-the-gooseflesh-on-my-skin-i-did-not-know-what-made-it-i-was-not/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll ever have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-to-live-my-life-and-it-is-the-only-one-i-ll-ever-have/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The city had faded my tan, though. I looked yellow as a Chinaman. Ordinarily, I would have been nervous about my dress and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-city-had-faded-my-tan-though-i-looked-yellow-as-a-chinaman/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Joy:show joy & enjoy: then others will be joyful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/joy-show-joy-enjoy-then-others-will-be-joyful/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [A million years of evolution, Eric said bitterly, and what are we? Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I have stitched life into me like a rare organ --from "Three Women: A Poem for Three Voices", written 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-stitched-life-into-me-like-a-rare-organ-from-three-women-a/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [It is so much safer not to feel, not to let the world touch me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-is-so-much-safer-not-to-feel-not-to-let-the-world-touch-me/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Flute Notes from a Reedy Pond" Now coldness comes sifting down, layer after layer, To our bower at the lily root. Overhead the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/flute-notes-from-a-reedy-pond-now-coldness-comes-sifting-down-layer/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The most saddening thing is to admit that I am not in love. I can only love (if that means self denial - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-most-saddening-thing-is-to-admit-that-i-am-not-in-love-i-can-only/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) [Explore all 1,098 Sylvia Plath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## More Feel quotes > [I feel like I definitely have a real sporty style, more so than a lot of people in G.O.O.D. Music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/i-feel-like-i-definitely-have-a-real-sporty-style-more-so-than-a-lot/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [I feel I handle the pressure situations well, and that's why I want to be there at the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ab-de-villiers/i-feel-i-handle-the-pressure-situations-well-and-that-s-why-i-want-to/) [AB de Villiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ab-de-villiers/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I feel as though I've fooled the world into thinking I'm an adult and now they're letting me procreate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-murray/i-feel-as-though-i-ve-fooled-the-world-into-thinking-i-m-an-adult-and/) [George Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-murray/) > [I feel like I could eat the world raw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-feel-like-i-could-eat-the-world-raw/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [I like to wear bodysuits and things that make me feel really active and athletic and also really sensual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hawley-weld/i-like-to-wear-bodysuits-and-things-that-make-me-feel-really-active/) [Sophie Hawley-Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hawley-weld/) > [You can't force people to feel in a certain way, and the sooner you understand that,the better. I feel everything has its way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidharth-malhotra/you-can-t-force-people-to-feel-in-a-certain-way-and-the-sooner-you/) [Sidharth Malhotra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidharth-malhotra/) > [You make me feel brand new today. Even my day is full of trials and pain…Thanks for everything...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lantapi/you-make-me-feel-brand-new-today-even-my-day-is-full-of-trials-and/) [Richard Lantapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lantapi/) > [I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italia-ricci/i-m-an-actor-so-i-m-never-going-to-feel-like-i-ve-done-enough/) [Italia Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italia-ricci/) > [I don't know how people feel,that's the beauty of TV, is they can see us, but we can't see them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/i-don-t-know-how-people-feel-that-s-the-beauty-of-tv-is-they-can-see/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [I feel like I'm the best, but you're not going to get me to say that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/i-feel-like-i-m-the-best-but-you-re-not-going-to-get-me-to-say-that/) [Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/) [Browse all 26,675 Feel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I am inhabited by a cry. 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