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
Regret is a short, evocative and achingly beautiful word: an elegy to lost possibilities even in its brief annunciation.
Interpretation
Regret captures the essence of missed opportunities and the beauty in reflecting on loss.
In this quote, David Whyte eloquently conveys that regret, despite being a brief word, embodies deep emotion and poignancy. It serves as a reminder of the possibilities that were never realized and invites us to reflect on the beauty found in both lost chances and the feelings that accompany them.
In practice
Using this quote during a speech about the importance of seizing opportunities.
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.
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.
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.
The price of our vitality is the sum of all our fears
The severest test of work today, is not of our strategies, but of our imaginations and identities.
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.
Man has made remarkable strides in conquering outer space, but how futile have been his efforts in conquering inner space- the space in our hearts and minds of men.
Idleness, we are accustomed to say, is the root of all evil. To prevent this evil, work is recommended.... Idleness as such is by no means a root of evil; on the contrary, it is truly a divine life, if one is not bored.
War is too serious a matter to leave to soldiers.
Our characters are the result of our conduct.
As a global community, we face a choice. Do we want migration to be a source of prosperity and international solidarity, or a byword for inhumanity and social friction?
Every man must define his identity against his mother. If he does not, he just falls back into her and is swallowed up.
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