Poets are being pursued by the philosophers today, out of the poverty of philosophy. God damn it, you might think a man had no business to be writing, to be a poet unless some philosophic stinker gave him permission.
William Carlos WilliamsRead
But time in only another liar, so go along the wall a little further: if blackberries prove bitter there'll be mushrooms, fairy-ring mushrooms in the grass, sweetest of all fungi.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that time can be deceptive, but new opportunities will emerge despite challenges.
William Carlos Williams reflects on the nature of time and experience, indicating that while it may mislead us or present us with hardships (symbolized by bitter blackberries), we should keep exploring and moving forward. In doing so, we might discover unexpected joys and delights (represented by the sweet fairy-ring mushrooms). This encapsulates the idea that life is full of ups and downs, but perseverance can lead us to pleasant surprises.
Themes
TimeOpportunityExplorationChangeNature
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about resilience, you could use this quote to illustrate how challenges can give way to new opportunities.
More from William Carlos Williams
All quotes βFor the beginning is assuredly the end- since we know nothing, pure and simple, beyond our own complexities.
William Carlos WilliamsRead
It was the love of love, the love of swallows up all else, a grateful love, a love of natural, of people, of animals, a love ingengering gentleness and goodness that moved meand that I saw in you
William Carlos WilliamsRead
O frost bitten blossoms, That are unfolding your wings From out the envious black branches. Bloom quickly and make much of the sunshine. The twigs conspire against you! Hear hem! They hold you from behind.
William Carlos WilliamsRead
No opinion can be trusted; even the facts may be nothing but a printer's error.
William Carlos WilliamsRead
It is almost impossible to state what one in fact believes, because it is almost impossible to hold a belief and to define it at the same time.
William Carlos WilliamsRead
Similar quotes
I'm going to show you the real New York - witty, smart, and international - like any metropolis. Tell me this: where in Europe can you find old Hungary, old Russia, old France, old Italy? In Europe you're trying to copy America, you're almost American. But here you'll find Europeans who immigrated a hundred years ago - and we haven't spoiled them. Oh, Gio! You must see why I love New York. Because the whole world's in New York.
Oriana FallaciRead
They [anarchists] spring from a single seed, no matter the flowering of their ideas. The seed is liberty. And that is all it is. It is not a socialist seed. It is not a capitalist seed. It is not a mystical seed. It is not a determinist seed. It is simply a statement. We can be free. After that itβs all choice and chance.
Karl HessRead
I think human beings must have faith or must look for faith, otherwise our life is empty, empty. To live and not to know why the cranes fly, why children are born, why there are stars in the sky. You must know why you are alive, or else everything is nonsense, just blowing in the wind.
Anton ChekhovRead
We are celebrating the feast of the Eternal Birth which God the Father has borne and never ceases to bear in all eternity... But if it takes not place in me, what avails it? Everything lies in this, that it should take place in me.
Meister EckhartRead
We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence.
Mother TeresaRead
The metaphor for Palestine is stronger than the Palestine of reality.
Mahmoud DarwishRead