David Whyte Quotes
The truth about our own modest contribution might immobilize us: much easier then, to tell ourselves a story about how much we make our own reality.
When I recite poems onstage, I put myself into the very personal struggle and it grants tremendous perspective. At the same time you get another perspective on the poem you're reciting.
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.
Poetry for me has been a long pilgrimage, a journey and a growing relationship with the unknown.
What we strive for in perfection is not what turns us into the lit angel we desire what disturbs and then nourishes has everything we need.
The marvelous thing about a good question is that it shapes our identity as much by the asking as it does by the answering.
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 great poems are not about experience, but are the experience itself, felt in the body.
A real conversation always contains an invitation. You are inviting another person to reveal herself or himself to you, to tell you who they are or what they want.
A soul-based workplace asks things of me that I didn't even know I had. It's constantly telling me that I belong to something large in the world.
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.
Shyness means you are in the hallway of a greater presence. You just don't know how to take the conversation another step. It's a lovely indication.
It is the province of poetry to be more realistic and present than the artificial narratives of an outer discourse, and not afraid of the truthful difficulty of the average human life.
A good poem looks life straight in the face, unflinching, sincere, equal to revelation through loss or gain.
If I don't have time for the writing, it's because I'm not making that time. It's really just a question of whether you want to or not, whether you feel you deserve to write or not.
It doesn't interest me if there is one God or many gods. I want to know if you belong or feel abandoned. If you know despair or can see it in others.
The outlaw is the radical, the one close to the roots of existence. The one who refuses to forget their humanity and, in remembering, helps everyone else remember, too.
...wanting soul life without the dark, warming intelligence of personal doubt is like expecting an egg without the brooding heat of the mother hen.
In Germany, they have great difficulty with anything that smacks of cultism or messianic leadership. You can't talk about leadership in its charismatic forms.
Poetry gives us courage and sets us straight with the world. Poems are great companions and friends.
Honesty lies in understanding our close and necessary relationship with not wanting to hear the truth.
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 carries the imagery which is large enough for the kind of life we want for ourselves.
