Jack Kerouac

"I nudged myself closer to the ledge and closed my eyes and thought 'Oh what a life this is, why do we have to be born in the first place, and only so we can have our poor gentle flesh laid out to such impossible horrors as huge mountains and rock and empty space,' and with horror I remembered the famous Zen saying, 'When you get to the top of a mountain, keep climbing.' The saying made my hair stand on end; it had been such cute poetry sitting on Alvah's straw mats."

3 likes

Source: On the Road.

About the author

Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac

Novelist, Poet

Jack Kerouac was an American novelist and poet, best known for his seminal work 'On the Road', which captures the spirit of the Beat Generation.

All quotes by Jack Kerouac →

Same author

More quotes by Jack Kerouac

See all →
Jack Kerouac Novelist, Poet

"the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars."

Read quote