Poetry is a street fighter. It has sharp elbows. It can look after itself. Poetry can't be used for manipulation; it's why you never see good poetry in advertising.
David WhyteRead
Being a good parent will necessarily break our hearts as we watch a child grow and eventually choose their own way, even through many of the same heartbreaks we have traversed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Parenting involves deep emotional challenges as children grow and make their own choices.
This quote highlights the bittersweet experience of parenthood, where a loving parent must endure the pain of watching their child make choices that may lead to heartache. It acknowledges that while parents guide their children, the inevitable process of growing up involves personal experiences and hardships that are often similar to those faced by the parents themselves, reinforcing the universal nature of love and loss in familial relationships.
Themes
ParentingEmotionsGrowthHeartbreakLove
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the challenges of parenting during a family gathering.
More from David Whyte
All quotes →Poetry is often the art of overhearing yourself say things you didn't know you knew. It is a learned skill to force yourself to articulate your life, your present world or your possibilities for the future.
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By definition, poetry works with qualities and dynamics that mainstream society is reluctant to face head-on. It's an interesting phenomenon that by necessity, poetry is just below the radar.
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The severest test of work today, is not of our strategies, but of our imaginations and identities.
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We learn, grow and become compassionate and generous as much through exile as homecoming, as much through loss as gain, as much through giving things away as in receiving what we believe to be our due.
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