Quotes by Nescio

One time, on a pleasure cruise, he saw a young couple, fiancés, sitting and looking at the water--the boy had his right arm around the girls shoulder and held her right wrist tight and she had put her left hand on his right hand, and they sat like that, pressed close together. The little poet looked at them, its so lovely to see a nice young couple like that. That these children are excited because they want more, that they are only getting each other worked up for what they cant do and dont dare to do, that they never know where to stop--no one ever notices that or thinks about that. It was very lovely, and maybe the truth was that they had just recently gotten engaged and were still satisfied with being madly in love with each other.

The larks were singing everywhere, a heron flew past, the sky was so high in the trees were wrestling all around the house and the light-- could you catch the light and hug it tight and take it inside you?

Koekebakker, I feel so strange inside. Well you certainly smell like jenever, I said. No, Japi said, its not the jenever. I think my soul is too big.

We strolled to the end of the platform. We came to a man with a signal lamp and I saw that as he passed us he looked at a conductor standing on another platform and made a drinking movement with his hand near his mouth. We stopped past the end of the roof and looked at the sun. You see the sun, Koekebakker? The sun was especially clear, right in front of us, close by, bigger and redder than I had ever seen it. It almost touched the rails, it didnt flash brightly on things anymore, there was a dull glow only on the frosted windowpanes of the train shed to the right of the track. You think Im drunk? I did indeed. It doesnt matter, Koekebakker, when Im sober I dont understand anything anyway.Do you understand what the sun wants from me? I have thirty-four setting suns leaning against the wall, one on top of the other, all facing the wall. But every evening its there again.Unless its cloudy, I said. But he wouldnt let himself be distracted.Koekebakker, youve always been my best friend. Ive known you since--how long has it been?Thirteen years. Thats a long time. You know what you need to do? Do me a favor. You have a hatbox?I didnt say anything.Put it in a hatbox, Koekebakker. In a hatbox. I want to be left alone. Put it in a hatbox, a plain old hatbox. Thats all its worth.Bavinck blubbered drunkards tears. I looked around helplessly. A man in a uniform with a yellow stripe on his cap came up to us and spoke to me.I think it would be better, sir, if you took the gentleman home.