--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have said no To everything, in order to…" description: "\"I have said no To everything, in order to get at myself. I have wiped away moonlight like mud.\" — Wallace Stevens" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a8/wallace-stevens-846_moonlight_i-have-said-no-to-everything-in-order-to_1670809.jpg" --- # I have said no To everything, in order to get at myself. I… ![“I have said no To everything, in order to get at myself. I have wiped away moonlight like mud.” quote by Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a8/wallace-stevens-846_moonlight_i-have-said-no-to-everything-in-order-to_1670809.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a8/wallace-stevens-846_moonlight_i-have-said-no-to-everything-in-order-to_1670809.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a8/wallace-stevens-846_moonlight_i-have-said-no-to-everything-in-order-to_1670809.jpg) > “I have said no To everything, in order to get at myself. I have wiped away moonlight like mud.” [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Explores self‑examination and the difficulty of confronting one's inner truth. **In simple terms:** Question yourself to discover your core. Key Takeaway Self‑reflection reveals hidden motives. Themes introspection truth self‑knowledge Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - therapy - personal growth - spiritual practice Key Concepts existentialism poetic metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What truths have you avoided? - How does confronting yourself change actions? A Different Perspective Self‑analysis can be unsettling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Moonlight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moonlight/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Rejection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rejection/) [Wiped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wiped/) ## Related quotes > [I could have ended the war in a month. I could have made North Vietnam look like a mud puddle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/i-could-have-ended-the-war-in-a-month-i-could-have-made-north-vietnam/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [I do not like mud baths at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-hoffman/i-do-not-like-mud-baths-at-all/) [Rick Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-hoffman/) > [Women are a lot like ducks-they don’t like mud on their butts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/women-are-a-lot-like-ducks-they-don-t-like-mud-on-their-butts/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [The mind of the people is like mud, from which arises strange and beautiful things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-turner/the-mind-of-the-people-is-like-mud-from-which-arises-strange-and/) Walter J. Turner > [“Cosmic Ordering success sticks to you like mud to a blanket.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/cosmic-ordering-success-sticks-to-you-like-mud-to-a-blanket/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [“is the answer none of the above crouched in a hole like a mud-streaked fugitive everyday a different version of pouring it away like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gray-songwriter/is-the-answer-none-of-the-above-crouched-in-a-hole-like-a-mud/) David Gray - Songwriter > [“You from the IRS? The man's voice was deep and wet, like mud slipping down a drain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-hiaasen/you-from-the-irs-the-man-s-voice-was-deep-and-wet-like-mud-slipping/) [Carl Hiaasen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-hiaasen/) > [“Love is like mud. Only as strong as the shape you give it. Love is like paint. It can color over all the empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-keener/love-is-like-mud-only-as-strong-as-the-shape-you-give-it-love-is-like/) Rachel Keener > [“Grief was like the mud that covered them. Messy. Quickly spreading everywhere, once it found a way in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-rossi/grief-was-like-the-mud-that-covered-them-messy-quickly-spreading/) [Veronica Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-rossi/) > [A Mudboy is just somebody who came from nothing: you know, who turned nothing into something. You know, when I was in Africa, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheck-wes/a-mudboy-is-just-somebody-who-came-from-nothing-you-know-who-turned/) [Sheck Wes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheck-wes/) > [Under the beautiful moonlight, there remains no ugly reality; even muds turn into the diamonds!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/under-the-beautiful-moonlight-there-remains-no-ugly-reality-even-muds/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“You wrote words with your hand, but your mind wiped me away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/okey-ndibe/you-wrote-words-with-your-hand-but-your-mind-wiped-me-away/) [Okey Ndibe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/okey-ndibe/) > [“Nostalgia, as always, had wiped away the bad memories and magnified the good ones. no one was safe from its onslaught.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/nostalgia-as-always-had-wiped-away-the-bad-memories-and-magnified-the/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [They took away what should have been my eyes (but I remembered Milton's Paradise). They took away what should have been my ears, (Beethoven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/they-took-away-what-should-have-been-my-eyes-but-i-remembered-milton/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“I didn’t want to cry in front of you.” He wiped away the tears with the pad of his thumb. “I want you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-carr/i-didn-t-want-to-cry-in-front-of-you-he-wiped-away-the-tears-with-the/) [Robyn Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-carr/) ## More by Wallace Stevens > [Poet, patting more nonsense foamed From the sea, conceive for thecourts Of these academies, the diviner health Disclosed in common forms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/poet-patting-more-nonsense-foamed-from-the-sea-conceive-for-thecourts/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The way through the world is more difficult to find than the way beyond it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-way-through-the-world-is-more-difficult-to-find-than-the-way/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The magnificent cause of being, The imagination, the one reality In this imagined world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-magnificent-cause-of-being-the-imagination-the-one-reality-in/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Music falls on the silence like a sense / A passion that we feel, not understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/music-falls-on-the-silence-like-a-sense-a-passion-that-we-feel-not/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The life of the city never lets you go, nor do you ever want it to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-life-of-the-city-never-lets-you-go-nor-do-you-ever-want-it-to/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [After a lustre of the moon, we say We have not the need of any paradise, We have not the need of any seducing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/after-a-lustre-of-the-moon-we-say-we-have-not-the-need-of-any/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [I am what is around me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/i-am-what-is-around-me/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [“We live in an old chaos of the sun, Or old dependency of day and night, Or island solitude, unsponsored, free, Of that wide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/we-live-in-an-old-chaos-of-the-sun-or-old-dependency-of-day-and-night/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [“Lunar Paraphrase" The moon is the mother of pathos and pity. When, at the wearier end of November, Her old light moves along the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/lunar-paraphrase-the-moon-is-the-mother-of-pathos-and-pity-when-at/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Poetry is the scholar's art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/poetry-is-the-scholar-s-art/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [“The stars are putting on their glittering belts, They throw around their shoulders cloaks that flash Like a great shadow's last embellishment”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-stars-are-putting-on-their-glittering-belts-they-throw-around/) [wallace stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Unfortunately there is nothing more inane than an Easter carol. It is a religious perversion of the activity of Spring in our blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/unfortunately-there-is-nothing-more-inane-than-an-easter-carol-it-is/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The word is the making of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-word-is-the-making-of-the-world/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [A diary is more or less the work of a man of clay whose hands are clumsy and in whose eyes there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/a-diary-is-more-or-less-the-work-of-a-man-of-clay-whose-hands-are/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [It is never the thing but the version of the thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/it-is-never-the-thing-but-the-version-of-the-thing/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) [Explore all 352 Wallace Stevens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) ## More Moonlight quotes > [“When they stumbled together into a clearing, even in their panic the blue moonlight made it ethereal, like a fairy ring. But in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/when-they-stumbled-together-into-a-clearing-even-in-their-panic-the/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [I plead with my Moonlight fans to give this show a chance if they let me give it a chance. I can’t do Moonlight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-o-loughlin/i-plead-with-my-moonlight-fans-to-give-this-show-a-chance-if-they-let/) [Alex O'Loughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-o-loughlin/) > [It is moonlight. Alone in the silence I ascend my stairs once more, While waves remote in pale blue starlight Crash on a white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/it-is-moonlight-alone-in-the-silence-i-ascend-my-stairs-once-more/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [“The snow wears moonlight like perfume.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-murdoch/the-snow-wears-moonlight-like-perfume/) [Emily Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-murdoch/) > [If I lose the light of the sun, I will write by candlelight, moonlight, no light. If I lose paper and ink, I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/if-i-lose-the-light-of-the-sun-i-will-write-by-candlelight-moonlight/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > ['Moonlight' has changed my life externally but also internally... spiritually as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashton-sanders/moonlight-has-changed-my-life-externally-but-also-internally/) [Ashton Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashton-sanders/) > [ I mean, we should only be talking about the merits of film \["Moonlight"\] because one of the great things about the visual language is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheo-hodari-coker/i-mean-we-should-only-be-talking-about-the-merits-of-film-moonlight/) [Cheo Hodari Coker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheo-hodari-coker/) > [So I walked away and left him standing there in the moonlight - watching over nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/so-i-walked-away-and-left-him-standing-there-in-the-moonlight/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [The idea for 'Midnight Moonlight' was mostly inspired by the moon herself. Advancing from my previous EP 'Moon Shoes,' I felt it necessary to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravyn-lenae/the-idea-for-midnight-moonlight-was-mostly-inspired-by-the-moon/) [Ravyn Lenae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravyn-lenae/) > [All these years I've had a story in my mind, the story about us that never really existed. And because of that story, I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathleen-schine/all-these-years-i-ve-had-a-story-in-my-mind-the-story-about-us-that/) [Cathleen Schine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathleen-schine/) > [“what looks like crazy on an ordinary day looks a lot like love if you catch it in the moonlight!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-cleage/what-looks-like-crazy-on-an-ordinary-day-looks-a-lot-like-love-if-you/) [Pearl Cleage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-cleage/) > [Seeing all of these beautiful brown faces and having that patience for them to live in whatever it was that they were living in;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/seeing-all-of-these-beautiful-brown-faces-and-having-that-patience/) [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) > [The loveliest faces are to be seen by moonlight, when one sees half with the eye and half with the fancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-loveliest-faces-are-to-be-seen-by-moonlight-when-one-sees-half/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where the wave of moonlight glosses The dim gray sands with light, Far off by furthest Rosses We foot it all the night, Weaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/where-the-wave-of-moonlight-glosses-the-dim-gray-sands-with-light-far/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [“Care to join me, Goodfellow?” “Oh, ice-boy. A moonlight stroll with you? Do you even have to ask?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/care-to-join-me-goodfellow-oh-ice-boy-a-moonlight-stroll-with-you-do/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) [Browse all 540 Moonlight quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moonlight/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have said no To everything, in order to get at myself. 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