Give me hunger, pain and want, Shut me out with shame and failure From your doors of gold and fame, Give me your shabbiest, weariest hunger! But leave me a little love.
Carl SandburgRead
Poetry is the journal of a sea animal living on land, wanting to fly in the air.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the struggle of creativity and the longing for freedom that artists experience.
Carl Sandburg's quote illustrates the inherent desire of a poet, or an artist more broadly, to express themselves and transcend their earthly limitations. The imagery of a sea animal on land wishing to fly suggests a yearning for liberation and the ability to explore new realms of existence, highlighting the tension between the constraints of reality and the boundless potential of imagination.
Themes
PoetryArtCreativityFreedomImagination
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on the nature of creativity, this quote could illustrate the struggles artists face.
More from Carl Sandburg
All quotes →Nothing happens... but first a dream.
Carl SandburgRead
Read the dictionary from A to Izzard today. Get a vocabulary. Brush up on your diction. See whether wisdom is just a lot of language.
Carl SandburgRead
My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive in the universe.
Carl SandburgRead
There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud.
Carl SandburgRead
A liar goes in fine clothes, a liar goes in rags, a liar is a liar, clothes or no clothes.
Carl SandburgRead
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Some writers confuse authenticity, which they ought always to aim at, with originality, which they should never bother about.
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