Do you like me?” No answer. Silence bounced, fell off his tongueand sat between usand clogged my throat. It slaughtered my trust. It tore cigarettes out of my mouth. We exchanged blind words, and I did not cry, I did not beg, but blackness filled my ears, blackness lunged in my heart, and something that had been good, a sort of kindly oxygen, turned into a gas oven. Anne Sexton
About This Quote

This darkly humorous poem is about the man who asks the woman he's dating if she likes him. He does this to get her attention because he's bored with the silence. The silence is like blackness, which kills his trust and causes him to lose his voice. At first, he's speaking to her in an indifferent manner ("no answer") but as they exchange meaningless words (like blackness and cigarettes), his trust is torn apart and he can't find the words to make his feelings clear. When he finally gets the courage to ask her his question, she answers him with silence and tears, which kills him even more than having no answer at all.

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More Quotes By Anne Sexton
  1. Watch out for intellect, because it knows so much it knows nothingand leaves you hanging upside down, mouthing knowledge as your heartfalls out of your mouth.
  2. Do you like me?” No answer. Silence bounced, fell off his tongueand sat between usand clogged my throat. It slaughtered my trust. It tore cigarettes out of my mouth. We exchanged blind words, and I did not cry, I did not beg, but blackness filled...
  3. Live or die, but don't poison everything.
  4. Anne, I don't want to live. Now listen, life is lovely, but I Can't Live It. I can't even explain. <span style="margin:15px; display:block"></span>I know how silly it sounds. but if you knew how it Felt. <span style="margin:15px; display:block"></span>To be alive, yes, alive, but not be...
  5. Wanting to Die Since you ask, most days I cannot remember. I walk in my clothing, unmarked by that voyage. Then the almost unnameable lust returns. Even then I have nothing against life. <span style="margin:15px; display:block"></span>I know well the grass blades you mention, the furniture...
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