--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Wild eyes were another sign. It is…" description: "\"“Wild eyes were another sign. It is something I have seldom seen — the expression of an ecstatic state — though much is foolishly written of them, as i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/897/william-h-gass-4166_greatest-gift_wild-eyes-were-another-sign-it-is-someth_1579002.jpg" --- # Wild eyes were another sign. It is something I have seldom… ![“Wild eyes were another sign. It is something I have seldom seen — the expression of an ecstatic state — though much is foolishly written of them, as if they grew like Jerusalem artichokes along the road. The eyes are black, right enough, whatever their normal color is; they are black because their…” quote by William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/897/william-h-gass-4166_greatest-gift_wild-eyes-were-another-sign-it-is-someth_1579002.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/897/william-h-gass-4166_greatest-gift_wild-eyes-were-another-sign-it-is-someth_1579002.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/897/william-h-gass-4166_greatest-gift_wild-eyes-were-another-sign-it-is-someth_1579002.jpg) > ““Wild eyes were another sign. It is something I have seldom seen — the expression of an ecstatic state — though much is foolishly written of them, as if they grew like Jerusalem artichokes along the road. The eyes are black, right enough, whatever their normal color is; they are black because their perception is condensed to a coal, because the touch and taste and perfume of the lover, the outcry of a dirty word, a welcome river, have been reduced in the heat of passion to a black ash, and this unburnt residue of oxidation, this calyx, replaces the pupil so it no longer receives but sends, and every hair is on end, though perhaps only outspread on a pillow, and the nostrils are flared, mouth agape, cheeks sucked so the whole face seems as squeezed as a juiced fruit; I know, for once Lou went into that wildness while we were absorbing one another, trying to kiss, not merely forcefully, not the skull of our skeleton, but the skull and all the bones on which the essential self is hung, kiss so the shape of the soul is stirred too, that's what is called the ultimate French, the furtherest fuck, when a cock makes a concept cry out and climax; I know, for more than once, though not often, I shuddered into that other region, when a mouth drew me through its generosity into the realm of unravel, and every sensation lay extended as a lake, every tie was loosed, and the glue of things dissolved. I knew I wore the wild look then. The greatest gift you can give another human being is to let them warm you till, in passing beyond pleasure, your defenses fall, your ego surrenders, its structure melts, its towers topple, lies, fancies, vanities, blow away in no wind, and you return, not to the clay you came from — the unfired vessel — but to the original moment of inspiration, when you were the unabbreviated breath of God.”” [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intense erotic intimacy can dissolve personal boundaries, turning lovers into a shared, transcendent experience that strips away ego and pretension. **In simple terms:** Passionate love can erase ego and merge selves. Key Takeaway Allow vulnerability to dissolve defenses. Themes love intimacy transcendence ego vulnerability Mood intense ecstatic reflective Type philosophical erotic spiritual When to use this quote - intimate partnership - creative collaboration - deep conversation - ritualistic sexual practice Key Concepts psychology philosophy sensory perception spirituality Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance surrender with self‑preservation? - What boundaries protect you during deep intimacy? A Different Perspective Such intensity can be overwhelming, leading to loss of self or emotional burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Greatest gift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest-gift/) [Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lover/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Wild eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wild-eyes/) [Wildness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wildness/) ## Related quotes > [On October 19, 2009, my sixteenth birthday, Wild Eyes officially became mine! Now it was really happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-sunderland/on-october-19-2009-my-sixteenth-birthday-wild-eyes-officially-became/) [Abby Sunderland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-sunderland/) > [On June 10, the worst storm in the series swept across the middle of the Indian Ocean and Wild Eyes was directly in its path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-sunderland/on-june-10-the-worst-storm-in-the-series-swept-across-the-middle-of/) [Abby Sunderland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-sunderland/) > [The winds were blowing from west to east, pushing Abby's boat toward the rocks as Abby struggled with the autopilots below. If Wild Eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-sunderland/the-winds-were-blowing-from-west-to-east-pushing-abby-s-boat-toward/) [Abby Sunderland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-sunderland/) > [I was in the right place at the right time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-allen/i-was-in-the-right-place-at-the-right-time/) [Mel Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-allen/) > [“Small is the number of them that see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/small-is-the-number-of-them-that-see-with-their-own-eyes-and-feel/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Wild Eyes was built for speed and I was flying down walls of water twenty and thirty feet high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-sunderland/wild-eyes-was-built-for-speed-and-i-was-flying-down-walls-of-water/) [Abby Sunderland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-sunderland/) > [With wild eyes that had seen freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-kaysen/with-wild-eyes-that-had-seen-freedom/) [Susanna Kaysen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-kaysen/) > [“She had wild eyes, slightly insane. She also carried an overload of compassion that was real enough and which obviously cost her something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/she-had-wild-eyes-slightly-insane-she-also-carried-an-overload-of/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“...and in thy voice I catch the language of my former heart, and read my former pleasures in the shooting lights of thy wild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/and-in-thy-voice-i-catch-the-language-of-my-former-heart-and-read-my/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [And so the Word had breath, and wrought With human hands the creed of creeds In loveliness of perfect deeds, More strong than all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/and-so-the-word-had-breath-and-wrought-with-human-hands-the-creed-of/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Love is beauty, consciousness is trust. One of the deepest feminine pleasures is when a man stands full, present, and unreactive in the midst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deida/love-is-beauty-consciousness-is-trust-one-of-the-deepest-feminine/) [David Deida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deida/) > [Fury is an entirely appropriate response to a system that sends young people to kill other young people in a war that never should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/fury-is-an-entirely-appropriate-response-to-a-system-that-sends-young/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [If I paint a wild horse, you might not see the horse... but surely you will see the wildness!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/if-i-paint-a-wild-horse-you-might-not-see-the-horse-but-surely-you/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The saints differ from us in their exuberance, the excess of our human talents. Moderation is not their secret. It is in the wildness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/the-saints-differ-from-us-in-their-exuberance-the-excess-of-our-human/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [“In the United States law, federally designated wilderness is famously defined as 'an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-marris/in-the-united-states-law-federally-designated-wilderness-is-famously/) [Emma Marris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-marris/) ## More by William H. Gass > [“Try to remember that artists in these catastrophic times, along with the serious scientists, are the only salvation for us, if there is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/try-to-remember-that-artists-in-these-catastrophic-times-along-with/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“If someone asks me, “Why do you write?” I can reply by pointing out that it is a very dumb question. Nevertheless, there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/if-someone-asks-me-why-do-you-write-i-can-reply-by-pointing-out-that/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [The things that stayed were things that didn't matter except they stayed, night and day, all seasons the same, and were peaceful to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/the-things-that-stayed-were-things-that-didn-t-matter-except-they/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [When book and reader's furrowed brow meet, it isn't always the book that's stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/when-book-and-reader-s-furrowed-brow-meet-it-isn-t-always-the-book/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [Getting even is one reason for writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/getting-even-is-one-reason-for-writing/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“It's a simple world for her. A curtain fluttering - that's how she is - lives, moves - obediently, yet with every appearnace of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/it-s-a-simple-world-for-her-a-curtain-fluttering-that-s-how-she-is/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“I dreamed my lips would drift down your back like a skiff on a river. I'd follow a vein with the point of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/i-dreamed-my-lips-would-drift-down-your-back-like-a-skiff-on-a-river/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“Yes, we call it recursive, the act of reading, of looping the loop, of continually returning to an earlier group of words, behaving like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/yes-we-call-it-recursive-the-act-of-reading-of-looping-the-loop-of/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“Then let us have a language worthy of our world, a democratic style where rich and well-born nouns can roister with some sluttish verb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/then-let-us-have-a-language-worthy-of-our-world-a-democratic-style/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“Excellence is inconveniently difficult.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/excellence-is-inconveniently-difficult/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [We must take our sentences seriously, which means we must understand them philosophically, and the odd thing is that the few who do, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/we-must-take-our-sentences-seriously-which-means-we-must-understand/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [We converse as we live by repeating, by combining and recombining a few elements over and over again just as nature does when of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/we-converse-as-we-live-by-repeating-by-combining-and-recombining-a/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“Why were they whining then?...whining, damn them, whining… Because they’d have to give up their hope of living like an animal and return to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/why-were-they-whining-then-whining-damn-them-whining-because-they-d/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [Sports, politics, and religion are the three passions of the badly educated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/sports-politics-and-religion-are-the-three-passions-of-the-badly/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“Then Jethro Furber wondered whether Omensetter wasn't an actor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/then-jethro-furber-wondered-whether-omensetter-wasn-t-an-actor/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) [Explore all 115 William H. Gass quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) ## More Greatest gift quotes > [The greatest gift you can give to those around you is honesty. Sometimes honest words may sting the heart, but dishonesty pierces deep into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/the-greatest-gift-you-can-give-to-those-around-you-is-honesty/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [BLOOD IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN WATER. NEVER ABANDON YOUR FAMILY, BECAUSE IF ONE DAY THE WORLD TURN ITS BACK ON YOU, THE ONLY THING…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/no-voice/blood-is-always-better-than-water-never-abandon-your-family-because/) NO VOICE > [“The greatest gift you can bestow upon your children is your time and undivided attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-brozina/the-greatest-gift-you-can-bestow-upon-your-children-is-your-time-and/) Jim Brozina > [My relationship with my parents is among the greatest gifts of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-castellani/my-relationship-with-my-parents-is-among-the-greatest-gifts-of-my-life/) [Christopher Castellani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-castellani/) > [The least grace is a better security for heaven than the greatest gifts or privileges whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/the-least-grace-is-a-better-security-for-heaven-than-the-greatest/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [“I often think that the ability to earn a living by doing the thing one loves must be one of life's greatest gifts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/i-often-think-that-the-ability-to-earn-a-living-by-doing-the-thing/) [Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/) > [So when it comes don't push it away. One day you will find it is the greatest gift and I hope you don't take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-green/so-when-it-comes-don-t-push-it-away-one-day-you-will-find-it-is-the/) [Vivian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-green/) > [I think that's one of the greatest gifts that I have: that I can get someone to open up, and all you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karamo-brown/i-think-that-s-one-of-the-greatest-gifts-that-i-have-that-i-can-get/) [Karamo Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karamo-brown/) > [It's one thing believing in yourself, it's another thing having other people believe in you, and that is the greatest gift, honestly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-magnussen/it-s-one-thing-believing-in-yourself-it-s-another-thing-having-other/) [Billy Magnussen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-magnussen/) > [knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God ever gives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/knowledge-of-our-own-mortality-is-the-greatest-gift-god-ever-gives-us/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“It is not holiness, but arrogance displayed to take away the greatest gift—free will— bestowed by God from the beginning of time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullia-d-aragona/it-is-not-holiness-but-arrogance-displayed-to-take-away-the-greatest/) Tullia d'Aragona > [“The greatest gift you can open is your heart to someone in need.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/the-greatest-gift-you-can-open-is-your-heart-to-someone-in-need/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [The greatest gift a parent can give a child is unconditional love. As a child wanders and strays, finding his bearings, he needs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-greatest-gift-a-parent-can-give-a-child-is-unconditional-love-as/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [One of the best things you can do in life is to embrace who you are. Once you do that NOTHING can stop you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-best-things-you-can-do-in-life-is-to-embrace-who-you-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The greatest gift you can ever give to yourself is 'Loving yourself the way you are'. Its a gift from you to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/collins-hasty/the-greatest-gift-you-can-ever-give-to-yourself-is-loving-yourself/) [Collins Hasty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/collins-hasty/) [Browse all 722 Greatest gift quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest-gift/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Wild eyes were another sign. It is something I have seldom seen — the expression of an ecstatic state — though much is foolishly written of them, as if they grew like Jerusalem artichokes along the road. The eyes are black, right enough, whatever their normal color is; they are black because their perception is condensed to a coal, because the touch and taste and perfume of the lover, the outcry of a dirty word, a welcome river, have been reduced in the heat of passion to a black ash, and this unburnt residue of oxidation, this calyx, replaces the pupil so it no longer receives but sends, and every hair is on end, though perhaps only outspread on a pillow, and the nostrils are flared, mouth agape, cheeks sucked so the whole face seems as squeezed as a juiced fruit; I know, for once Lou went into that wildness while we were absorbing one another, trying to kiss, not merely forcefully, not the skull of our skeleton, but the skull and all the bones on which the essential self is hung, kiss so the shape of the soul is stirred too, that's what is called the ultimate French, the furtherest fuck, when a cock makes a concept cry out and climax; I know, for more than once, though not often, I shuddered into that other region, when a mouth drew me through its generosity into the realm of unravel, and every sensation lay extended as a lake, every tie was loosed, and the glue of things dissolved. I knew I wore the wild look then. The greatest gift you can give another human being is to let them warm you till, in passing beyond pleasure, your defenses fall, your ego surrenders, its structure melts, its towers topple, lies, fancies, vanities, blow away in no wind, and you return, not to the clay you came from — the unfired vessel — but to the original moment of inspiration, when you were the unabbreviated breath of God.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William H. Gass" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/wild-eyes-were-another-sign-it-is-something-i-have-seldom-seen-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Greatest gift" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/wild-eyes-were-another-sign-it-is-something-i-have-seldom-seen-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/897/william-h-gass-4166_greatest-gift_wild-eyes-were-another-sign-it-is-someth_1579002.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/897/william-h-gass-4166_greatest-gift_wild-eyes-were-another-sign-it-is-someth_1579002.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/897/william-h-gass-4166_greatest-gift_wild-eyes-were-another-sign-it-is-someth_1579002.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Wild eyes were another sign. It is something I have seldom seen — the expression of an ecstatic state…” — William H. Gass", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William H. Gass", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Wild eyes were another sign. It...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/wild-eyes-were-another-sign-it-is-something-i-have-seldom-seen-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/wild-eyes-were-another-sign-it-is-something-i-have-seldom-seen-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```