I try to be good but sometimes a person just has to break out and act like the wild and springy thing one used to be. It's impossible not to remember wild an want it back.
Mary OliverRead
You can fool a lot of yourself but you can't fool the soul.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True understanding requires honesty with oneself, as superficial deceptions cannot mask deeper truths.
This quote by Mary Oliver emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and authenticity. While one might deceive oneself with illusions or lies, the essence of the soul remains unchangeable and perceptive. The soul recognizes true intentions and feelings, highlighting the necessity for introspection and truthfulness in one's journey through life.
Themes
Self-AwarenessTruthAuthenticitySoulDeception
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about mental health and the importance of facing one's true emotions.
More from Mary Oliver
All quotes βAt the time I was growing up, literature was involved with the so-called confessional poets. And I was not interested in that. I did not think that specific and personal perspective functioned well for the reader at all.
Mary OliverRead
I know the sag of the unfinished poem. And I know the release of the poem that is finished.
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For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry.
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If I have any lasting worth, it will be because I have tried to make people remember what the Earth is meant to look like.
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Every day I see or hear something that more or less kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light.
Mary OliverRead
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