--- title: "1 Old Beliefs Quotes By Tracy K. Smith" description: "1 Old Beliefs quotes by Tracy K. Smith. Plus more from Tracy K. Smith and more Old Beliefs sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/tracy-k-smith-8847_books_so-much-we-once-coveted-so-much-that-wou_64626.jpg" --- > [“So much we once coveted. So much That would have saved us, but lived, Instead, its own quick span, returning To uselessness with the mute acquiescence Of shed skin. It watches us watch it: Our faulty eyes, our telltale heat,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/so-much-we-once-coveted-so-much-that-would-have-saved-us-but-lived/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/tracy-k-smith-8847_books_so-much-we-once-coveted-so-much-that-wou_64626.jpg) ## More by Tracy K. Smith > [I've been beating my head all day long on the same six lines,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/i-ve-been-beating-my-head-all-day-long-on-the-same-six-lines/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [For years following the death of my mother, I wanted to write about her. I started writing what I thought of as personal essays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/for-years-following-the-death-of-my-mother-i-wanted-to-write-about/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [“So much we once coveted. So much That would have saved us, but lived, Instead, its own quick span, returning To uselessness with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/so-much-we-once-coveted-so-much-that-would-have-saved-us-but-lived/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [“sometimes, what i see is a library in a rural community. all the tall shelves in the big open room. and the pencils in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/sometimes-what-i-see-is-a-library-in-a-rural-community-all-the-tall/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [I have three kids, so children's literature is a big part of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/i-have-three-kids-so-children-s-literature-is-a-big-part-of-my-life/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [I feel like the older I get, the truer it feels that I'm only going have an investment in a poem if it allows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/i-feel-like-the-older-i-get-the-truer-it-feels-that-i-m-only-going/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [One of poetry's great effects, through its emphasis upon feeling, association, music, and image - things we recognize and respond to even before we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/one-of-poetry-s-great-effects-through-its-emphasis-upon-feeling/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [“we like to think of it as parallel to what we know only bigger. one man against the authorities. or one man against a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/we-like-to-think-of-it-as-parallel-to-what-we-know-only-bigger-one/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [A question is a pursuit, an invitation to envision and explore a series of possibilities, to struggle and empathize and doubt and believe. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/a-question-is-a-pursuit-an-invitation-to-envision-and-explore-a/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [I know my curiosity as a writer and as a person makes me really interested in moving to parts of the country that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/i-know-my-curiosity-as-a-writer-and-as-a-person-makes-me-really/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [For me, a poem is an opportunity to kind of interrogate myself a little bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/for-me-a-poem-is-an-opportunity-to-kind-of-interrogate-myself-a/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [Everything that disappears/Disappears as if returning somewhere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/everything-that-disappears-disappears-as-if-returning-somewhere/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [I feel most alive, most electric with faith, breath, and courage, when I think of God as a current that runs through all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/i-feel-most-alive-most-electric-with-faith-breath-and-courage-when-i/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [I want to just go to places where writers don't usually go, where people like me don't usually show up, and say, 'Here are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/i-want-to-just-go-to-places-where-writers-don-t-usually-go-where/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [When my father died, those years when he was working on the Hubble came back to me, and it seemed fitting to imagine him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/when-my-father-died-those-years-when-he-was-working-on-the-hubble/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-beliefs/tracy-k-smith/#itemlist", "name": "1 Old Beliefs Quotes By Tracy K. Smith", "numberOfItems": 1, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“So much we once coveted. So much That would have saved us, but lived, Instead, its own quick span, returning To uselessness with the mute acquiescence Of shed skin. It watches us watch it: Our faulty eyes, our telltale heat, hearts Ticking through our shirts. We’re here To titter at gimcracks, the naïve tools, The replicas of replicas stacked like bricks. There’s green money, and oil in drums. Pots of honey pilfered from a tomb. Books Recounting the wars, maps of fizzled stars. In the south wing, there’s a small room Where a living man sits on display. Ask, And he’ll describe the old beliefs. If you Laugh, he’ll lower his head to his hands And sigh. When he dies, they’ll replace him With a video looping on ad infinitum. Special installations come and go. “Love” Was up for a season, followed by “Illness,” Concepts difficult to grasp. The last thing you see (After a mirror—someone’s idea of a joke?) Is an image of an old planet taken from space. Outside, vendors hawk t-shirts, three for eight.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tracy K. 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