Painterly old revolver on a burgundy cushion beside a lit lantern.

Original artwork, not a still

The Almost Perfect State

Don Marquis

Ideas pull the trigger, but instinct loads the gun.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker offers a metaphor: thoughts may set an action off, but the real charge behind it comes from instinct. Ideas are only the final trigger squeeze, while deeper, less reasoned impulses supply the force that makes the shot possible.

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