--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have loved and bitterness left me for…" description: "\"I have loved and bitterness left me for that hour. But there are times when love itself is bitter.\" — Agnes Smedley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45e/agnes-smedley-17303_anger_i-have-loved-and-bitterness-left-me-for_855966.png" --- # I have loved and bitterness left me for that hour. But… ![“I have loved and bitterness left me for that hour. But there are times when love itself is bitter.” quote by Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45e/agnes-smedley-17303_anger_i-have-loved-and-bitterness-left-me-for_855966.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45e/agnes-smedley-17303_anger_i-have-loved-and-bitterness-left-me-for_855966.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45e/agnes-smedley-17303_anger_i-have-loved-and-bitterness-left-me-for_855966.png) > “I have loved and bitterness left me for that hour. But there are times when love itself is bitter.” [Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love can become painful, and bitterness can disappear, yet love itself may still hurt. **In simple terms:** Love sometimes feels bitter. Key Takeaway Accept love’s complexity. Themes love bitterness emotion Mood melancholic introspective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - breakups - long‑term partnerships - family dynamics Key Concepts psychology human relationships Questions to Reflect On - When has love felt bitter for you? - How do you heal from love’s pain? A Different Perspective May overlook personal growth opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Bitterness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitterness/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The worst part of all is that, without forgiveness, bitterness is all that is left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/the-worst-part-of-all-is-that-without-forgiveness-bitterness-is-all/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [I think you have to pay for love with bitter tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-piaf/i-think-you-have-to-pay-for-love-with-bitter-tears/) [Edith Piaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-piaf/) > [“Yes, I admit miss all of you my silk eyes everything about you that singing yours to my ear that smile that penalty yours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivonne-y-ez-saba/yes-i-admit-miss-all-of-you-my-silk-eyes-everything-about-you-that/) [Ivonne Yáñez Saba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivonne-y-ez-saba/) > [“Love is bitter, death is sweet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/love-is-bitter-death-is-sweet/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Through Love all that is bitter will be sweet, Through Love all that is copper will be gold, Through Love all dregs will become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/through-love-all-that-is-bitter-will-be-sweet-through-love-all-that/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Black Americans should be given credit for finding probably the perfect weapon; the weapon of the song. And that song continues. Most holocausts don't,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/black-americans-should-be-given-credit-for-finding-probably-the/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Temporary anger is okay, but permanent anger will make you bitter and ruin your chance at happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/temporary-anger-is-okay-but-permanent-anger-will-make-you-bitter-and/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [If its not there then it not here your heart is broken and I dont know if I could care... You hurt me all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-its-not-there-then-it-not-here-your-heart-is-broken-and-i-dont/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It's sad when the people you love most become a bitter memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiera-forsythe/it-s-sad-when-the-people-you-love-most-become-a-bitter-memory/) Kiera Forsythe > [Through love all that is bitter will be sweet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/through-love-all-that-is-bitter-will-be-sweet/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Ah love is bitter and sweet, but which is more sweet the bitterness or the sweetness, none has spoken it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilda-doolittle/ah-love-is-bitter-and-sweet-but-which-is-more-sweet-the-bitterness-or/) [Hilda Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilda-doolittle/) > [Love is as bitter as the dregs of sin, As sweet as clover-honey in its cell; Love is the password whereby souls get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/love-is-as-bitter-as-the-dregs-of-sin-as-sweet-as-clover-honey-in-its/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Love is bitter-sweet, its up to you to make it bitter or sweet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-bitter-sweet-its-up-to-you-to-make-it-bitter-or-sweet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love¦.. a term constantly over used. Her heart is a power system hope her boyfriend doesnt blow a fuse. These people leave me all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curly-girl/love-a-term-constantly-over-used-her-heart-is-a-power-system-hope-her/) Curly Girl ## More by Agnes Smedley > [So I had to be the doctor to these wounded men until we could remove them to the hospital. There were fifty-four women and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-smedley/so-i-had-to-be-the-doctor-to-these-wounded-men-until-we-could-remove/) [Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/) > [Yet it is awful to love a person who is a torture to you. And a fascinating person who loves you and won't hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-smedley/yet-it-is-awful-to-love-a-person-who-is-a-torture-to-you-and-a/) [Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/) > [Now, being a girl, I was ashamed of my body and my lack of strength. So I tried to be a man. I shot,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-smedley/now-being-a-girl-i-was-ashamed-of-my-body-and-my-lack-of-strength-so/) [Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/) > [But he like my mother, had certainly come to know that those who work the most do not make the most money. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-smedley/but-he-like-my-mother-had-certainly-come-to-know-that-those-who-work/) [Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/) > [To die would have been beautiful. But I belong to those who do not die for the sake of beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-smedley/to-die-would-have-been-beautiful-but-i-belong-to-those-who-do-not-die/) [Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/) > [“...we live this one brief and precious hour called Life; ...it is not in keeping with the nobility of existence to keep other human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-smedley/we-live-this-one-brief-and-precious-hour-called-life-it-is-not-in/) [Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/) > [Thousands of women are crushed and made inarticulate by that system and never develop as their natures would force them to develop were they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-smedley/thousands-of-women-are-crushed-and-made-inarticulate-by-that-system/) [Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/) > [What a couple. I'm consumed into ashes. And he's always raking up the ashes and setting them on fire again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-smedley/what-a-couple-i-m-consumed-into-ashes-and-he-s-always-raking-up-the/) [Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/) > [New York was a new and strange world. Vast, impersonal, merciless… Always before I had felt like a person, an individual, hopeful that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-smedley/new-york-was-a-new-and-strange-world-vast-impersonal-merciless-always/) [Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/) > [No one yet knows what a man's province is, and how far that province, as conceived of today, is artificial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-smedley/no-one-yet-knows-what-a-man-s-province-is-and-how-far-that-province/) [Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/) > [Subjection of any kind and in any place is beneath the dignity of man ... the highest joy is to fight by the side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-smedley/subjection-of-any-kind-and-in-any-place-is-beneath-the-dignity-of-man/) [Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/) > [My mother listened to all the news from the camp during the strike. She said little, especially when my father or the men who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-smedley/my-mother-listened-to-all-the-news-from-the-camp-during-the-strike/) [Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/) > [But settled things were enemies to me and soon lost their newness and color. The unknown called.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-smedley/but-settled-things-were-enemies-to-me-and-soon-lost-their-newness-and/) [Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/) > [For months it seemed that a revolution was certain. But instead, slavery seems more likely now. The working class no longer has the physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-smedley/for-months-it-seemed-that-a-revolution-was-certain-but-instead/) [Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/) > [I joined another circle and the leader gave us a little leaflet in very small print, asking us to read it carefully and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-smedley/i-joined-another-circle-and-the-leader-gave-us-a-little-leaflet-in/) [Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/) [Explore all 37 Agnes Smedley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/) ## More Anger quotes > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [My care will be in the heart n not in words My anger will be in Words n not in the Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-care-will-be-in-the-heart-n-not-in-words-my-anger-will-be-in-words/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have loved and bitterness left me for that hour. 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