--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Somedays, if bitterness were a whetstone…" description: "\"Somedays, if bitterness were a whetstone, I could be sharp as grief.\" — Audre Lorde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f8/audre-lorde-758_anger_somedays-if-bitterness-were-a-whetstone_2045736.jpg" --- # Somedays, if bitterness were a whetstone, I could be sharp… ![“Somedays, if bitterness were a whetstone, I could be sharp as grief.” quote by Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f8/audre-lorde-758_anger_somedays-if-bitterness-were-a-whetstone_2045736.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f8/audre-lorde-758_anger_somedays-if-bitterness-were-a-whetstone_2045736.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f8/audre-lorde-758_anger_somedays-if-bitterness-were-a-whetstone_2045736.jpg) > “Somedays, if bitterness were a whetstone, I could be sharp as grief.” [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. The speaker uses bitterness as a metaphorical sharpening stone, suggesting that suffering can sharpen insight and emotional depth. **In simple terms:** Pain can make us more aware and resilient. Key Takeaway Embrace hardship as a source of strength. Themes pain growth resilience self-awareness Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal healing - creative writing - therapy - mentorship Key Concepts metaphor emotional intelligence transformative experience Questions to Reflect On - What pain has sharpened your perspective? - Can we grow without hardship? A Different Perspective The metaphor may romanticize suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Bitterness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitterness/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) ## Related quotes > [“When we admit and deal with difference; when we deal with the deep bitterness; when we deal with the horror of even our different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/when-we-admit-and-deal-with-difference-when-we-deal-with-the-deep/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I don't think you can ever be bitter about anything, because if you don't allow your heart to stay open, then all you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-reynolds/i-don-t-think-you-can-ever-be-bitter-about-anything-because-if-you/) [Debbie Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-reynolds/) > [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/) > [Those who cannot work with their hearts achieve but a hollow, half-hearted success that breeds bitterness all around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/those-who-cannot-work-with-their-hearts-achieve-but-a-hollow-half/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Money brings jealousy and bitterness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-taylor/money-brings-jealousy-and-bitterness/) [Phil Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-taylor/) > [If you succumb to the temptation of using violence in the struggle, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/if-you-succumb-to-the-temptation-of-using-violence-in-the-struggle/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“When anything in life is an absolute requirement for your happiness and self-worth, it is essentially an ‘idol,’ something you are actually worshiping. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/when-anything-in-life-is-an-absolute-requirement-for-your-happiness/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Gratitude is the antidote to bitterness and resentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-j-ryan/gratitude-is-the-antidote-to-bitterness-and-resentment/) [M. J. Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-j-ryan/) > [“You can't just sit there hating the wound, Tan, or indulging in bitterness. Whatever you become in life, always ask yourself, am I making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-d-o-brien/you-can-t-just-sit-there-hating-the-wound-tan-or-indulging-in/) [Michael D. O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-d-o-brien/) > [That's full bitterness truth ,,Till then, we are proving to be extracted only for one another,, But After breakdown Relationship , we do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/that-s-full-bitterness-truth-till-then-we-are-proving-to-be-extracted/) Mak\_786 > [Envy may justly be called "the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity;" it is the most acid fruit that grows on the stock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/envy-may-justly-be-called-the-gall-of-bitterness-and-bond-of-iniquity/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [Be sure there is something waiting for you after much patience, to astonish you to a degree, that you forget the bitterness of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/be-sure-there-is-something-waiting-for-you-after-much-patience-to/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“Sometimes it is good to remind ourselves how bitterness tastes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rin-chupeco/sometimes-it-is-good-to-remind-ourselves-how-bitterness-tastes/) [Rin Chupeco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rin-chupeco/) > [Stronger than alcohol, vaster than poetry, Ferment the freckled red bitterness of love!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/stronger-than-alcohol-vaster-than-poetry-ferment-the-freckled-red/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [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/) ## 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 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": "Somedays, if bitterness were a whetstone, I could be sharp as grief.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/somedays-if-bitterness-were-a-whetstone-i-could-be-sharp-as-grief/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anger" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/somedays-if-bitterness-were-a-whetstone-i-could-be-sharp-as-grief/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f8/audre-lorde-758_anger_somedays-if-bitterness-were-a-whetstone_2045736.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f8/audre-lorde-758_anger_somedays-if-bitterness-were-a-whetstone_2045736.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f8/audre-lorde-758_anger_somedays-if-bitterness-were-a-whetstone_2045736.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Somedays, if bitterness were a whetstone, I could be sharp as grief.” — Audre Lorde", "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": "Audre Lorde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Somedays, if bitterness were a whetstone,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/somedays-if-bitterness-were-a-whetstone-i-could-be-sharp-as-grief/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/somedays-if-bitterness-were-a-whetstone-i-could-be-sharp-as-grief/#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 } } ] } ```