--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How should we like it were stars to burn…" description: "\"How should we like it were stars to burn With a passion for us we could not return? If equal affection cannot be, Let the more loving one be me.\" — Ano..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/239/anonymous-1_affection_how-should-we-like-it-were-stars-to-burn_1973082.jpg" --- # How should we like it were stars to burn With a passion… ![“How should we like it were stars to burn With a passion for us we could not return? If equal affection cannot be, Let the more loving one be me.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/239/anonymous-1_affection_how-should-we-like-it-were-stars-to-burn_1973082.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/239/anonymous-1_affection_how-should-we-like-it-were-stars-to-burn_1973082.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/239/anonymous-1_affection_how-should-we-like-it-were-stars-to-burn_1973082.jpg) > “How should we like it were stars to burn With a passion for us we could not return? If equal affection cannot be, Let the more loving one be me.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True love may be unreciprocated, yet the lover can choose to give all love without expectation of return. **In simple terms:** Love can be given even if not returned. Key Takeaway Offer love selflessly. Themes love selflessness unrequited affection sacrifice empathy Mood melancholic hopeful Type poetic reflective When to use this quote - romantic relationships - friendships - family bonds Key Concepts Altruistic love emotional sacrifice Questions to Reflect On - Are you able to love without expecting anything back? - What boundaries protect you in one‑sided love? A Different Perspective Self‑sacrificing love can lead to personal neglect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) [Affection Let](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection-let-1619525/) [Burn Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burn-passion-1186840/) [Equal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal/) [Equal Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal-affection-1619523/) [Let Loving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-loving-959098/) [Like Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-stars/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) ## Related quotes > [“if equal affection cannot be, let the more loving one be me!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-equal-affection-cannot-be-let-the-more-loving-one-be-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving be me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/if-equal-affection-cannot-be-let-the-more-loving-be-me/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Listening to your tape, I was reminded of this poem. It has the central question: Is it harder to count on someone or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/listening-to-your-tape-i-was-reminded-of-this-poem-it-has-the-central/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reelow-leesah/but-if-they-cannot-control-themselves-they-should-marry-for-it-is/) [ReeLow LeeSah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reelow-leesah/) > [You've got to shake your fists at lightning now, you've got to roar like forest fire You've got to spread your light like blazes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/you-ve-got-to-shake-your-fists-at-lightning-now-you-ve-got-to-roar/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [You should not be hovering in the background, inflating the drama. Simply envelop him in love and affection and let him know that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-dickinson/you-should-not-be-hovering-in-the-background-inflating-the-drama/) [Amy Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-dickinson/) > [There were many times; When we shared precious moments. But later realized they were only stolen moments. So how are we to know, That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/there-were-many-times-when-we-shared-precious-moments-but-later/) [Pacifiersucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pacifiersucker/) > [If u ever feel like you can't ever let go of someone who is loving you so wrong ...hold on to them intill u…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xmille/if-u-ever-feel-like-you-can-t-ever-let-go-of-someone-who-is-loving/) [Xmille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xmille/) > [“I love you, Beverly...just let me have that. You can have Bill, or the word, or whatever you need, Just let me have that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-love-you-beverly-just-let-me-have-that-you-can-have-bill-or-the/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Let's get back to loving our bodies and accepting them totally as they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/let-s-get-back-to-loving-our-bodies-and-accepting-them-totally-as/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [Let Loving u be my religion, Hurting u be my screams Lemme just be ur thoughts, And u be all my dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shades/let-loving-u-be-my-religion-hurting-u-be-my-screams-lemme-just-be-ur/) [Shades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shades/) > [Let me keep loving you. It's the most natural thing I've ever done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemis-khan/let-me-keep-loving-you-it-s-the-most-natural-thing-i-ve-ever-done/) [Kemis Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemis-khan/) > [Good friends are like stars… You don't always see them, but you know they are always there](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/good-friends-are-like-stars-you-don-t-always-see-them-but-you-know/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Dreams are like stars. You may never touch them, but if you follow them they will lead you to your destiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dreams-are-like-stars-you-may-never-touch-them-but-if-you-follow-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Boys are like stars, there are millions of them out there, but only one can make your dreams come true](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/boys-are-like-stars-there-are-millions-of-them-out-there-but-only-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Affection quotes > [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [“It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/it-is-to-build-a-house-with-affection-even-as-if-your-beloved-were-to/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Affection! Affection is false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/affection-affection-is-false/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Listen, I have a great affection and respect for Joe Biden. I think he's been a great vice president. He's taken on a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/listen-i-have-a-great-affection-and-respect-for-joe-biden-i-think-he/) [David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to be suggestions of that realm which is the home of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-sweetest-experiences-of-affection-are-meant-to-be-suggestions-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Browse all 2,465 Affection quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How should we like it were stars to burn With a passion for us we could not return? 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