--- title: "1 Poems People Quotes By Shaun Tan" description: "1 Poems People quotes by Shaun Tan. Plus more from Shaun Tan and more Poems People sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/shaun-tan-27832_alarm-clock_have-you-ever-wondered-what-happens-to-a_3056847.jpg" --- > [“Have you ever wondered What happens to all the poems people write? The poems they never let anyone else read? Perhaps they are Too private and personal Perhaps they are just not good enough. Perhaps the prospect of such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-tan/have-you-ever-wondered-what-happens-to-all-the-poems-people-write-the/) [Shaun Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-tan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/shaun-tan-27832_alarm-clock_have-you-ever-wondered-what-happens-to-a_3056847.jpg) ## More by Shaun Tan > [“It's as if they take all our questions and offer them straight back: Who are you? Why are you here? What do you want?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-tan/it-s-as-if-they-take-all-our-questions-and-offer-them-straight-back/) [Shaun Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-tan/) > [I'm often wary of using the word 'inspiration' to introduce my work -- it sounds too much like a sun shower from the heavens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-tan/i-m-often-wary-of-using-the-word-inspiration-to-introduce-my-work-it/) [Shaun Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-tan/) > [“The green painted concrete out in front of the house, which at first seemed like a novel way to save money on lawn-moving, was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-tan/the-green-painted-concrete-out-in-front-of-the-house-which-at-first/) [Shaun Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-tan/) > [Depression is the flip side of creative inspiration but it can be useful. It's telling you to stop for a little bit. You can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-tan/depression-is-the-flip-side-of-creative-inspiration-but-it-can-be/) [Shaun Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-tan/) > [“There is an implicit recognition here that important things in life are not always immediately visible, and can't always be named, or even fully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-tan/there-is-an-implicit-recognition-here-that-important-things-in-life/) [Shaun Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-tan/) > [“terrible fates are inevitable”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-tan/terrible-fates-are-inevitable/) [Shaun Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-tan/) > [What I love about Inuit carving is that it's so narrative, but it doesn't have the temporal dimension of an illustrated picture, where it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-tan/what-i-love-about-inuit-carving-is-that-it-s-so-narrative-but-it/) [Shaun Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-tan/) > [I don't get really inspired the way some people do, buzzing with ideas - it feels like hard work to me... but once I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-tan/i-don-t-get-really-inspired-the-way-some-people-do-buzzing-with-ideas/) [Shaun Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-tan/) > [“Why do I always listen to your insane plans? Why aren't we at home watching TV like everyone else? What possible difference will any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-tan/why-do-i-always-listen-to-your-insane-plans-why-aren-t-we-at-home/) [Shaun Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-tan/) > [“without sense or reason”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-tan/without-sense-or-reason/) [Shaun Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-tan/) > [“It's funny how these days, when every household has its own inter-continental ballistic missile, you hardly even think about them. . . . A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-tan/it-s-funny-how-these-days-when-every-household-has-its-own-inter/) [Shaun Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-tan/) > [You discover how confounding the world is when you try to draw it. You look at a car, and you try to see its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-tan/you-discover-how-confounding-the-world-is-when-you-try-to-draw-it-you/) [Shaun Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-tan/) > [The Federal Department of Odds and Ends: sweepus underum carpetae.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-tan/the-federal-department-of-odds-and-ends-sweepus-underum-carpetae/) [Shaun Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-tan/) > [As an artist, even if you are putting out something really dark and disturbing, that's good because it's opening a discussion. Always in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-tan/as-an-artist-even-if-you-are-putting-out-something-really-dark-and/) [Shaun Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-tan/) > [So you want to hear a story? Well, I used to know a whole lot of pretty interesting ones. Some of them so funny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-tan/so-you-want-to-hear-a-story-well-i-used-to-know-a-whole-lot-of-pretty/) [Shaun Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-tan/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems-people/shaun-tan/#itemlist", "name": "1 Poems People Quotes By Shaun Tan", "numberOfItems": 1, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Have you ever wondered What happens to all the poems people write? The poems they never let anyone else read? Perhaps they are Too private and personal Perhaps they are just not good enough. Perhaps the prospect of such a heartfelt expression being seen as clumsy shallow silly pretentious saccharine unoriginal sentimental trite boring overwrought obscure stupid pointless or simply embarrassing is enough to give any aspiring poet good reason to hide their work from public view. forever. Naturally many poems are IMMEDIATELY DESTROYED. Burnt shredded flushed away Occasionally they are folded Into little squares And wedged under the corner of An unstable piece of furniture (So actually quite useful) Others are hidden behind a loose brick or drainpipe or sealed into the back of an old alarm clock or put between the pages of AN OBSCURE BOOK that is unlikely to ever be opened. someone might find them one day, BUT PROBABLY NOT The truth is that unread poetry Will almost always be just that. DOOMED to join a vast invisible river of waste that flows out of suburbia. well Almost always. On rare occasions, Some especially insistent pieces of writing will escape into a backyard or a laneway be blown along a roadside embankment and finally come to rest in a shopping center parking lot as so many things do It is here that something quite Remarkable takes place two or more pieces of poetry drift toward each other through a strange force of attraction unknown to science and ever so slowly cling together to form a tiny, shapeless ball. Left undisturbed, this ball gradually becomes larger and rounder as other free verses confessions secrets stray musings wishes and unsent love letters attach themselves one by one. Such a ball creeps through the streets Like a tumbleweed for months even years If it comes out only at night it has a good Chance of surviving traffic and children and through a slow rolling motion AVOIDS SNAILS (its number one predator) At a certain size, it instinctively shelters from bad weather, unnoticed but otherwise roams the streets searching for scraps of forgotten thought and feeling. Given time and luck the poetry ball becomes large HUGE ENORMOUS: A vast accumulation of papery bits That ultimately takes to the air, levitating by The sheer force of so much unspoken emotion. It floats gently above suburban rooftops when everybody is asleep inspiring lonely dogs to bark in the middle of the night. Sadly a big ball of paper no matter how large and buoyant, is still a fragile thing. Sooner or LATER it will be surprised by a sudden gust of wind Beaten by driving rain and REDUCED in a matter of minutes to a billion soggy shreds. One morning everyone will wake up to find a pulpy mess covering front lawns clogging up gutters and plastering car windscreens. Traffic will be delayed children delighted adults baffled unable to figure out where it all came from Stranger still Will be the Discovery that Every lump of Wet paper Contains various faded words pressed into accidental verse. Barely visible but undeniably present To each reader they will whisper something different something joyful something sad truthful absurd hilarious profound and perfect No one will be able to explain the Strange feeling of weightlessness or the private smile that remains Long after the street sweepers have come and gone.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Shaun Tan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-tan/have-you-ever-wondered-what-happens-to-all-the-poems-people-write-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/shaun-tan-27832_alarm-clock_have-you-ever-wondered-what-happens-to-a_3056847.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/shaun-tan-27832_alarm-clock_have-you-ever-wondered-what-happens-to-a_3056847.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/shaun-tan-27832_alarm-clock_have-you-ever-wondered-what-happens-to-a_3056847.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Have you ever wondered What happens to all the poems people write? 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