Asked & Answered, Again~96

quiet desperation ...in 12 lines

“Professor, what did Thoreau 

mean by, 'Most men lead lives of 

quiet desperation'?

Did he include women too?" 

~

"No, Amanda. He was a man. 

Men don't understand women."

~

"...Okay, but what does it mean?"

~

"It means he was right 169 years ago,

but not so much today."

~

"...Men aren't desperate anymore?"

~

"Moreso, actually, but they're not

so quiet about it now."

__________________________

Henry David Thoreau, American Poet & Philosopher