--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If what we need to dream, to move our…" description: "\"If what we need to dream, to move our spirits most deeply and directly toward and through promise, is discounted as a luxury, then we give up the core ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ca/audre-lorde-758_dream_if-what-we-need-to-dream-to-move-our-spi_403249.jpg" --- # If what we need to dream, to move our spirits most deeply… ![“If what we need to dream, to move our spirits most deeply and directly toward and through promise, is discounted as a luxury, then we give up the core -- the fountain -- of our power, our womanness; we give up the future of our worlds. (From "Poetry is Not a Luxury")” quote by Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ca/audre-lorde-758_dream_if-what-we-need-to-dream-to-move-our-spi_403249.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ca/audre-lorde-758_dream_if-what-we-need-to-dream-to-move-our-spi_403249.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ca/audre-lorde-758_dream_if-what-we-need-to-dream-to-move-our-spi_403249.jpg) > “If what we need to dream, to move our spirits most deeply and directly toward and through promise, is discounted as a luxury, then we give up the core -- the fountain -- of our power, our womanness; we give up the future of our worlds. (From "Poetry is Not a Luxury")” [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Devaluing poetry as a luxury undermines the essential feminine power that fuels personal and collective futures. **In simple terms:** Calling poetry a luxury weakens women's power and future. Key Takeaway Protect poetry as essential, not optional. Themes feminism creativity future spirituality Mood reflective determined Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - education - activism - personal healing - community building Key Concepts gender power artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - How does dismissing poetry affect women's agency? - What alternatives can sustain the same power? A Different Perspective Poetry can be seen as nonessential in pragmatic contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Luxury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luxury/) [Our world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-world/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Promise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Poetry is not a luxury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/poetry-is-not-a-luxury/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [... poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence. It forms the quality of the light within which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/poetry-is-not-a-luxury-it-is-a-vital-necessity-of-our-existence-it/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I had no one to help me, but the T. S. Eliot helped me. So when people say that poetry is a luxury, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-had-no-one-to-help-me-but-the-t-s-eliot-helped-me-so-when-people/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [For women, then, poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/for-women-then-poetry-is-not-a-luxury-it-is-a-vital-necessity-of-our/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“Poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity for our existence. It forms the quality of light from which we predicate our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/poetry-is-not-a-luxury-it-is-a-vital-necessity-for-our-existence-it/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [For women ... poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence. It forms the quality of light within which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/for-women-poetry-is-not-a-luxury-it-is-a-vital-necessity-of-our/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Too many people in the modern world view poetry as a luxury, not a necessity like petrol. But to me it's the oil of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-betjeman/too-many-people-in-the-modern-world-view-poetry-as-a-luxury-not-a/) [John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) > [“Poetry is the way we help give name to the nameless so it can be thought. The farthest horizons of our hopes and fears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/poetry-is-the-way-we-help-give-name-to-the-nameless-so-it-can-be/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Of all the art forms, poetry is the most economical. It is the one which is the most secret, which requires the least physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/of-all-the-art-forms-poetry-is-the-most-economical-it-is-the-one/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [The fountain of youth is like the monkey's paw in the W. W. Jacobs story. It never ends well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-monette/the-fountain-of-youth-is-like-the-monkey-s-paw-in-the-w-w-jacobs/) [Sarah Monette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-monette/) > [The thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-thing-that-awakens-the-deepest-fountain-of-gratitude-in-a-human/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [...O my heart! Love God as the chatrik loves the rain drops, Who even when fountains are full and the land green, Is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-nanak/o-my-heart-love-god-as-the-chatrik-loves-the-rain-drops-who-even-when/) [Guru Nanak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-nanak/) > [The foundation of the Christian's peace is everlasting; it is what no time, no change can destroy. It will remain when the body dies;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/the-foundation-of-the-christian-s-peace-is-everlasting-it-is-what-no/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [ When the fountains of government \[borrowing\] abundance began to dry up, when through lack of funds and the impossibility of negotiating fresh loans the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-t-flynn/when-the-fountains-of-government-borrowing-abundance-began-to-dry-up/) [John T. Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-t-flynn/) ## More by Audre Lorde > [Every woman I have ever loved has left her print upon me, where I loved some invaluable piece of myself apart from me-so different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/every-woman-i-have-ever-loved-has-left-her-print-upon-me-where-i/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [There are many kinds of open. . . Love is a word, another kind of open. . . Take my word for jewel in your open light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-are-many-kinds-of-open-love-is-a-word-another-kind-of-open-take/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Your silence will not protect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/your-silence-will-not-protect-you/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I can't really define it in sexual terms alone although our sexuality is so energizing why not enjoy it too?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-can-t-really-define-it-in-sexual-terms-alone-although-our-sexuality/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“For once we begin to feel deeply all the aspects of our lives, we begin to demand from ourselves and from our life-pursuits that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/for-once-we-begin-to-feel-deeply-all-the-aspects-of-our-lives-we/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [the fear of death is that you are dying too soon. Nobody wants to, but at the point that you die you can pray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-fear-of-death-is-that-you-are-dying-too-soon-nobody-wants-to-but/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“There is an important difference between openness and naïveté. Not everyone has good intentions nor means me well. I remind myself I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-is-an-important-difference-between-openness-and-na-vet-not/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [What are the words you do not yet have? What do you need to say? What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/what-are-the-words-you-do-not-yet-have-what-do-you-need-to-say-what/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I learned to read from Mrs. Augusta Baker, the children's librarian. ... If that was the only good deed that lady ever did in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-learned-to-read-from-mrs-augusta-baker-the-children-s-librarian-if/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/poetry-is-not-only-dream-and-vision-it-is-the-skeleton-architecture/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I think that in America there are certain kinds of problems and in Russia there are certain kinds of problems, but basically, when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-think-that-in-america-there-are-certain-kinds-of-problems-and-in/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Institutionalized rejection of differences is an absolute necessity in a profit economy which needs outsiders as surplus people. As members of such an economy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/institutionalized-rejection-of-differences-is-an-absolute-necessity/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-sharing-of-joy-whether-physical-emotional-psychic-or-intellectual/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I forgot what we were celebrating. Because we were always celebrating something, a new job, a new poem, a new love, a new dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-forgot-what-we-were-celebrating-because-we-were-always-celebrating/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [How a diamond comes into a knot of flame How a sound comes into a word, coloured By who pays what for speaking. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/how-a-diamond-comes-into-a-knot-of-flame-how-a-sound-comes-into-a/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Explore all 377 Audre Lorde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ## More Dream quotes > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. My biggest dream was to have a coffee shop, but I had no idea how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-espinosa/academically-i-was-never-that-interested-i-skipped-classes-my-biggest/) [Daniel Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-espinosa/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. 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I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Browse all 26,527 Dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If what we need to dream, to move our spirits most deeply and directly toward and through promise, is discounted as a luxury, then we give up the core -- the fountain -- of our power, our womanness; we give up the future of our worlds. 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