And that taught me you can't ...

And that taught me you can\'t have anything, you can\'t have anything at all. Because desire just cheats you. It\'s like a sunbeam skipping here and there about a room. It stops and gilds some inconsequential object, and we poor fools try to grasp it - but when we do the sunbeam moves on to something else, and you\'ve got the inconsequential part, but the glitter that made you want it is gone.
And that taught me you can't have anything, you can't have anything at all. Because desire just cheats you. It's like a sunbeam skipping here and there about a room. It stops and gilds some inconsequential object, and we poor fools try to grasp it - but when we do the sunbeam moves on to something else, and you've got the inconsequential part, but the glitter that made you want it is gone.

Quotes from the same author

When a man is tired of life on his 21st birthday it indicates that he is rather tired of something in himself.
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mother says that two souls are sometimes created together and--and in love before they're born.
Never confuse activity with action.
I think they're very attractive,' Abe agreed. 'I just don't think they're attractive, that's all.