American Eels

Famous quotes containing the words american and/or eels:

    An American cannot converse, but he can discuss, and his talk falls into a dissertation. He speaks to you as if he was addressing a meeting; and if he should chance to become warm in the discussion, he will say “Gentlemen” to the person with whom he is conversing.
    Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859)

    Going down for the last time, the last breath lying,
    I grapple with eels like ropes—it’s ether, it’s queer
    and then, at last, it’s done. Now the scavengers arrive,
    the hard crawlers who come to clean up the ocean floor.
    Anne Sexton (1928–1974)