--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As it has been said: Love and a cough…" description: "\"As it has been said: Love and a cough cannot be concealed. Even a small cough. Even a small love.\" — Anne Sexton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/anne-sexton-645_love_as-it-has-been-said-love-and-a-cough-can_976187.png" --- # As it has been said: Love and a cough cannot be concealed… ![“As it has been said: Love and a cough cannot be concealed. Even a small cough. Even a small love.” quote by Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/anne-sexton-645_love_as-it-has-been-said-love-and-a-cough-can_976187.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/anne-sexton-645_love_as-it-has-been-said-love-and-a-cough-can_976187.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/anne-sexton-645_love_as-it-has-been-said-love-and-a-cough-can_976187.png) > “As it has been said: Love and a cough cannot be concealed. Even a small cough. Even a small love.” [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love and illness are both hard to hide; even small signs reveal deep truths. **In simple terms:** Love and illness cannot stay hidden. Key Takeaway Accept vulnerability and seek honesty. Themes love health secrecy Mood introspective melancholic Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - healthcare - self‑reflection Key Concepts human fragility emotional honesty Questions to Reflect On - What small signs are you ignoring? - How does honesty change your relationships? A Different Perspective Denial can worsen pain and misunderstanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cough Concealed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cough-concealed-1906740/) [Cough Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cough-small-1906741/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Cough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-cough-1906739/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Small Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-love/) ## Related quotes > [Love, and a cough, are not concealed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/love-and-a-cough-are-not-concealed/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Love and a cough cannot be hid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/love-and-a-cough-cannot-be-hid/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [It is said that love and a cough cannot be hid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/it-is-said-that-love-and-a-cough-cannot-be-hid/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“Love, a cough, and smoke are hard to hide. —Italian proverb I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-healey/love-a-cough-and-smoke-are-hard-to-hide-italian-proverb-i/) [Jane Healey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-healey/) > [Love, Cough, & a Smoke, can't well be hid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/love-cough-a-smoke-can-t-well-be-hid/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Jesus, what made You so small? LOVE!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-of-clairvaux/jesus-what-made-you-so-small-love/) [Bernard of Clairvaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-of-clairvaux/) > [As we lie, beneath the stars, we realise how small we are. If they could love, like you and me, imagine what the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-lie-beneath-the-stars-we-realise-how-small-we-are-if-they-could/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is true that there is nothing too great for God's power; and it is just as true that there is nothing too small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-goforth/it-is-true-that-there-is-nothing-too-great-for-god-s-power-and-it-is/) [Rosalind Goforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-goforth/) > [Therefore, even if you write a letter for a blind man or you must go and sit and listen, or you take the mail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/therefore-even-if-you-write-a-letter-for-a-blind-man-or-you-must-go/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [“Were the whole realm of nature mine That were an offering far too small Love so amazing so divine Demands my soul my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/were-the-whole-realm-of-nature-mine-that-were-an-offering-far-too/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small: Love so amazing, so divine Demands my soul, my life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/were-the-whole-realm-of-nature-mine-that-were-a-present-far-too-small/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [“Love in this life is expanded by our anticipation of the next life. Those who love under God are never satisfied with small love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/love-in-this-life-is-expanded-by-our-anticipation-of-the-next-life/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [“Perhaps the reason your faith is small, your love is weak, and your obedience is sparse is because you have lost sight of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-thorn/perhaps-the-reason-your-faith-is-small-your-love-is-weak-and-your/) [Joe Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-thorn/) > [“If I have any faith at all, I guess that's it. Faith in the small love that keeps our family together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ian-black/if-i-have-any-faith-at-all-i-guess-that-s-it-faith-in-the-small-love/) [Michael Ian Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ian-black/) > [Comfort food is really anything you want at that time. That said, I really love Naple-style pizza.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-zakarian/comfort-food-is-really-anything-you-want-at-that-time-that-said-i/) [Geoffrey Zakarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-zakarian/) ## More by Anne Sexton > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I am crazy as hell, but I know it. And knowing it is a kind of sanity that makes the sickness worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-am-crazy-as-hell-but-i-know-it-and-knowing-it-is-a-kind-of-sanity/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [And what of the dead? They lie without shoes in the stone boats. They are more like stone than the sea would be if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/and-what-of-the-dead-they-lie-without-shoes-in-the-stone-boats-they/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [The Witch's Life" When I was a child there was an old woman in our neighborhood whom we called The Witch. All day she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/the-witch-s-life-when-i-was-a-child-there-was-an-old-woman-in-our/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I have forgiven all the old actors for dying. A new one comes on with the same lines, like large white growths, in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-have-forgiven-all-the-old-actors-for-dying-a-new-one-comes-on-with/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“From the Garden” Come, my beloved, consider the lilies. We are of little faith. We talk too much. Put your mouthful of words away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/from-the-garden-come-my-beloved-consider-the-lilies-we-are-of-little/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Oh thumb, I want a drink it is dark, where are the big people, when will I get there...?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/oh-thumb-i-want-a-drink-it-is-dark-where-are-the-big-people-when-will/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I want to kiss God on His nose and watch Him sneeze and so do you. Not out of disrespect. Out of pique. Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-want-to-kiss-god-on-his-nose-and-watch-him-sneeze-and-so-do-you-not/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I, in my brand new body, which was not a woman's yet, told the stars my questions and thought God could really see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-in-my-brand-new-body-which-was-not-a-woman-s-yet-told-the-stars-my/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Father, you died once, salted down at fifty-nine, packed down like a big snow angel, wasn't that enough?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/father-you-died-once-salted-down-at-fifty-nine-packed-down-like-a-big/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [When I'm writing, I know I'm doing the thing I was born to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/when-i-m-writing-i-know-i-m-doing-the-thing-i-was-born-to-do/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Cinderella and the prince lived, they say, happily ever after, like two dolls in a museum case never bothered by diapers or dust, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/cinderella-and-the-prince-lived-they-say-happily-ever-after-like-two/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“Quite collected at cocktail parties, meanwhile in my head I'm undergoing open-heart surgery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/quite-collected-at-cocktail-parties-meanwhile-in-my-head-i-m/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I cannot walk an inch / without trying to walk to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-cannot-walk-an-inch-without-trying-to-walk-to-god/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Now that I have written many words, and let out so many loves, for so many, and been altogether what I always was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/now-that-i-have-written-many-words-and-let-out-so-many-loves-for-so/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Explore all 428 Anne Sexton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## More Love quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [I love going to Columbia, Missouri. That is a really underrated campus. It shocked me when I went there because I really didn't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-herbstreit/i-love-going-to-columbia-missouri-that-is-a-really-underrated-campus/) [Kirk Herbstreit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-herbstreit/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [We talk to God--that is prayer; God talks to us--that is inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-emilie-cady/we-talk-to-god-that-is-prayer-god-talks-to-us-that-is-inspiration/) [H. Emilie Cady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-emilie-cady/) > [I fell in love with social work, and that was my undoing as a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rakosi/i-fell-in-love-with-social-work-and-that-was-my-undoing-as-a-poet/) [Carl Rakosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rakosi/) > [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/) [Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [“To be loved by a man, truly loved, made a woman feel as if she could burst. Of course, Lia was strong and could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-anne/to-be-loved-by-a-man-truly-loved-made-a-woman-feel-as-if-she-could/) [Melody Anne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-anne/) > [So when you take those tears, don't look to see I'm alright. …\*Seal - Violet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-nickel/so-when-you-take-those-tears-don-t-look-to-see-i-m-alright-seal-violet/) [Eric Nickel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-nickel/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. For eighteen months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/that-horrible-stinging-sensation-returned-the-muscles-behind-my-eyes/) [Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/) > [I could program a 'fabulous, I love it' kind of hit season right now. I'm more interested in breaking boundaries, telling a story, defying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/i-could-program-a-fabulous-i-love-it-kind-of-hit-season-right-now-i-m/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) [Browse all 233,035 Love quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As it has been said: Love and a cough cannot be concealed. Even a small cough. Even a small love.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Sexton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/as-it-has-been-said-love-and-a-cough-cannot-be-concealed-even-a-small/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Love" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/as-it-has-been-said-love-and-a-cough-cannot-be-concealed-even-a-small/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/anne-sexton-645_love_as-it-has-been-said-love-and-a-cough-can_976187.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/anne-sexton-645_love_as-it-has-been-said-love-and-a-cough-can_976187.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/anne-sexton-645_love_as-it-has-been-said-love-and-a-cough-can_976187.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As it has been said: Love and a cough cannot be concealed. Even a small cough. Even a small love.” — Anne Sexton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anne Sexton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As it has been said: Love...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/as-it-has-been-said-love-and-a-cough-cannot-be-concealed-even-a-small/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/as-it-has-been-said-love-and-a-cough-cannot-be-concealed-even-a-small/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```