Quick Question Quotes

“When I think of finishing the work, when I think of the finished work, a great sadness overtakes me, a sadness paradoxically like joy. The circumstances of doing put away, the being of it takes possession, like a tenant in a rented house. Where are you now, homeless heart? Caught in a hinge, or secreted behind drywall, like your nameless predecessors now that they have been given names? Best not to dwell on our situation, but to dwell in it is deeply refreshing. Like a sideboard covered with decanters and fruit. As a box kite is to a kite. The inside of stumbling. The way to breath. The caricature on the blackboard.”
― John Ashbery, Quick Question: New Poems

“I've kept the jasmine and rotted horseflesh separate, knowing you'll do the honours. Destiny will greet us. After that you're on your own.”
― John Ashbery, Quick Question: New Poems