--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was me I remembered I could…" description: "\"“When I was me I remembered I could remember what was not there but may have been there once”\" — W.S. Merwin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/w-s-merwin-2-23725_memory_when-i-was-me-i-remembered-i-could-remem_1896169.jpg" --- # When I was me I remembered I could remember what was not… ![“When I was me I remembered I could remember what was not there but may have been there once” quote by W.S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/w-s-merwin-2-23725_memory_when-i-was-me-i-remembered-i-could-remem_1896169.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/w-s-merwin-2-23725_memory_when-i-was-me-i-remembered-i-could-remem_1896169.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/w-s-merwin-2-23725_memory_when-i-was-me-i-remembered-i-could-remem_1896169.jpg) > ““When I was me I remembered I could remember what was not there but may have been there once”” [W.S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin-2/) ## 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 reflects on memory’s paradox: recalling what is absent yet once present, highlighting the fluidity of recollection. **In simple terms:** Remembering what isn’t there but once was. Key Takeaway Acknowledge the elusive nature of memory. Themes memory perception time Mood reflective melancholic Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - personal reflection - philosophical discussion Key Concepts existentialism epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How does absence shape what we remember? - Can we trust our recollections? A Different Perspective Memory can be unreliable and shaped by desire. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Remembered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembered/) [Remembered Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembered-remember-703862/) ## Related quotes > [“I think that's what we all want, in the end. To know that we left footprints when we passed by, however briefly. We want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-a-lancaster/i-think-that-s-what-we-all-want-in-the-end-to-know-that-we-left/) [Mike A. Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-a-lancaster/) > [“Memory is of no use to the remembered, only to those who remember. We build ourselves with memory and console ourselves with memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurent-binet/memory-is-of-no-use-to-the-remembered-only-to-those-who-remember-we/) [Laurent Binet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurent-binet/) > [“If I could forget you! Is my love then a work of memory? Even if time expunged everything from its tablets, expunged even memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-kierkegaard/if-i-could-forget-you-is-my-love-then-a-work-of-memory-even-if-time/) [Søren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ren-kierkegaard/) > [“She remembered when Will had died, her agony, the long nights alone, reaching across the bed every morning when she woke up, for eighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/she-remembered-when-will-had-died-her-agony-the-long-nights-alone/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Tell the truth and you won't have so much to remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tell-the-truth-and-you-won-t-have-so-much-to-remember/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR WHAT I DO WHEN I DONT REMEMBER YOU.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/please-forgive-me-for-what-i-do-when-i-dont-remember-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just because someone thinks they remember something in detail, with confidence and with emotion, does not mean that it actually happened, .. False memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-loftus/just-because-someone-thinks-they-remember-something-in-detail-with/) [Elizabeth Loftus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-loftus/) > [The world will not remember what you say, but it will certainly not forget what you have done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/the-world-will-not-remember-what-you-say-but-it-will-certainly-not/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [“I can't be bound by a past self I don't remember.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-beth-durst/i-can-t-be-bound-by-a-past-self-i-don-t-remember/) [Sarah Beth Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-beth-durst/) > [“I suppose that having lost true love once, I never wanted to replace it with a lukewarm approximation that would only serve to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-kaufmann/i-suppose-that-having-lost-true-love-once-i-never-wanted-to-replace/) [Paola Kaufmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-kaufmann/) > [Always remember a little thing can change everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-remember-a-little-thing-can-change-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What’s the use of remembering anything? If it was unpleasant it was unpleasant and if it was pleasant it’s over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/what-s-the-use-of-remembering-anything-if-it-was-unpleasant-it-was/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every elephant I've ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-i-remember-every-elephant-i-ve-ever/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [Memory is funny. Once you hit a vein the problem is not how to remember but how to control the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/memory-is-funny-once-you-hit-a-vein-the-problem-is-not-how-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) ## More by W.S. Merwin > [“…Preserve my eyes, which are irreplaceable. Preserve my heart, veins, bones, Against the slow death building in them like hornets until the place is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin-2/preserve-my-eyes-which-are-irreplaceable-preserve-my-heart-veins/) [W.S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin-2/) > [“all these years I have looked through your limbs to the river below and the roofs and the night and you were the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin-2/all-these-years-i-have-looked-through-your-limbs-to-the-river-below/) [W.S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin-2/) > [“I have no way of telling what I miss I am the only one who misses it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin-2/i-have-no-way-of-telling-what-i-miss-i-am-the-only-one-who-misses-it/) [W.S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin-2/) > [ “The thing that makes poetry different from all other arts \[is that\] you're using language, which is what you use for everything else--telling lies… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin-2/the-thing-that-makes-poetry-different-from-all-other-arts-is-that-you/) [W.S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin-2/) > [“A BIRTHDAY Something continues and I don't know what to call it though the language is full of suggestions in the way of language…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin-2/a-birthday-something-continues-and-i-don-t-know-what-to-call-it/) [W.S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin-2/) > [“October" I remember how I would say, “I will gather These pieces together, Any minute now I will make A knife out of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin-2/october-i-remember-how-i-would-say-i-will-gather-these-pieces/) [W.S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin-2/) > [“...The silence of a place where there were once horses is a mountain and I have seen by lightning that ever mountain once fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin-2/the-silence-of-a-place-where-there-were-once-horses-is-a-mountain-and/) [W.S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin-2/) > [“In my youth I believed in somewhere else I put my faith in travel now I am becoming my own tree”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin-2/in-my-youth-i-believed-in-somewhere-else-i-put-my-faith-in-travel-now/) [W.S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin-2/) > [“How beautiful you must be to have been able to lead me this far with only the sound of your going away”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin-2/how-beautiful-you-must-be-to-have-been-able-to-lead-me-this-far-with/) [W.S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin-2/) > [“I turned to the room and in the light from the street beheld one beautiful bare breast of a friend's friend gently rising and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin-2/i-turned-to-the-room-and-in-the-light-from-the-street-beheld-one/) [W.S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin-2/) > [“…Let all lights but yours be nothing to me. Let the memory of tongues not unnerve me so that I stumble or quake. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin-2/let-all-lights-but-yours-be-nothing-to-me-let-the-memory-of-tongues/) [W.S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin-2/) > [“Tell me what you see vanishing and I will tell you who you are”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin-2/tell-me-what-you-see-vanishing-and-i-will-tell-you-who-you-are/) [W.S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin-2/) > [“where will the meanings be when the words are forgotten will I see again where you are”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin-2/where-will-the-meanings-be-when-the-words-are-forgotten-will-i-see/) [W.S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin-2/) > [“...Yes, now the roads themselves are shattered As though they had fallen from a height, and the sky Is cracked like varnish. Hard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin-2/yes-now-the-roads-themselves-are-shattered-as-though-they-had-fallen/) [W.S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin-2/) > [“Place" On the last day of the world I would want to plant a tree what for not the fruit the tree that bears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin-2/place-on-the-last-day-of-the-world-i-would-want-to-plant-a-tree-what/) [W.S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin-2/) [Explore all 25 W.S. Merwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin-2/) ## More Memory quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [“Maybe there is something when it all ends. Maybe there is memory, memory of the person you loved, when you lived. Maybe this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-ellison/maybe-there-is-something-when-it-all-ends-maybe-there-is-memory/) [Kate Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-ellison/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Memory is funny. Once you hit a vein the problem is not how to remember but how to control the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/memory-is-funny-once-you-hit-a-vein-the-problem-is-not-how-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Once upon a time. Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every elephant I've ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-i-remember-every-elephant-i-ve-ever/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [My first Olympics memory was watching Haile Gebrselassie in Sydney 2000. His sprint finish to defend his title really moved me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-farah/my-first-olympics-memory-was-watching-haile-gebrselassie-in-sydney/) [Mo Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-farah/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [My greatest memories as a kid were playing sports with my dad and watching sports with my dad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-teixeira/my-greatest-memories-as-a-kid-were-playing-sports-with-my-dad-and/) [Mark Teixeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-teixeira/) > [What’s the use of remembering anything? If it was unpleasant it was unpleasant and if it was pleasant it’s over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/what-s-the-use-of-remembering-anything-if-it-was-unpleasant-it-was/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [Always remember a little thing can change everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-remember-a-little-thing-can-change-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If God knows me I will never forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trunxbeats/if-god-knows-me-i-will-never-forget-him/) [Trunxbeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trunxbeats/) [Browse all 12,248 Memory quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When I was me I remembered I could remember what was not there but may have been there once”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W.S. 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