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
There are many tough conversations, but one of the most difficult is between a parent and an adolescent daughter, partly because as a parent we are almost always attempting to relate to someone who is no longer there.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the challenges parents face in communicating with their adolescent daughters due to changing dynamics in their relationship.
David Whyte emphasizes the complexity of conversations between parents and their adolescent daughters, pointing out that these discussions are particularly challenging because parents often struggle to connect with a person who is transitioning away from childhood into adulthood. This shift creates a gap in understanding, as the parent tries to engage with someone who may feel distant or different from the child they once knew.
Themes
ParentingCommunicationAdolescenceRelationshipsUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a parenting workshop to discuss the challenges of teenage communication.
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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