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
It might be liberating to think of human life as informed by losses and disappearances as much as by gifted appearances, allowing a more present participation and witness to the difficulty of living.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life is shaped by both losses and gains, encouraging a more engaged and mindful presence in our experiences.
David Whyte's quote suggests that recognizing the inevitability of loss and disappearance in life can bring a sense of liberation. By acknowledging these difficult aspects alongside our gifts and appearances, we can cultivate a deeper awareness and appreciation for the complexities of living, ultimately allowing us to engage more fully in our experiences and relationships.
Themes
LossLifeLivingExperienceAwareness
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on resilience, one might cite this quote to illustrate the balance of joy and sorrow in life.
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.
David WhyteRead
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.
David WhyteRead
The price of our vitality is the sum of all our fears
David WhyteRead
The severest test of work today, is not of our strategies, but of our imaginations and identities.
David WhyteRead
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.
David WhyteRead
Similar quotes
Everything I do is somehow rooted in humanity. It's always about people; it's always about ego. It's always about desperation. It's quite existential. You know, 'Am I leading a good life?' That might be because I'm an atheist, and I think this is all we've got, so you better be nice. And have fun.
Ricky GervaisRead
No man need fear death, he need fear only that he may die without having known his greatest power: the power of his free will to give his life for others
Albert SchweitzerRead
Democracy cannot survive overpopulation.
Isaac AsimovRead
I titled the book 'Homo Deus' because we really are becoming gods in the most literal sense possible. We are acquiring abilities that have always been thought to be divine abilities - in particular, the ability to create life. And we can do with that whatever we want.
Yuval Noah HarariRead
I think when you think of death as being part of the life cycle and recognize that death is an inevitability for our species because the world has to be renewed with each death, then the hope becomes when it is renewed it will be renewed by people on whom I have had some influence for good.
Sherwin B. NulandRead
But I also think all of the great stories in literature deal with loneliness. Sometimes it's by way of heartbreak, sometimes it's by way of injustice, sometimes it's by way of fate. There's an infinite number of ways to examine it.
Tom HanksRead