--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I hope the poem, as it goes on, gets more…" description: "\"I hope the poem, as it goes on, gets more complicated, a little more demanding, a little more ambiguous or speculative, so that we're drifting away fro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/billy-collins-3004_ambiguous_i-hope-the-poem-as-it-goes-on-gets-more_3098346.png" --- # I hope the poem, as it goes on, gets more complicated, a… ![“I hope the poem, as it goes on, gets more complicated, a little more demanding, a little more ambiguous or speculative, so that we're drifting away from the casual beginning of the poem into something a little more serious.” quote by Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/billy-collins-3004_ambiguous_i-hope-the-poem-as-it-goes-on-gets-more_3098346.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/billy-collins-3004_ambiguous_i-hope-the-poem-as-it-goes-on-gets-more_3098346.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/billy-collins-3004_ambiguous_i-hope-the-poem-as-it-goes-on-gets-more_3098346.png) > “I hope the poem, as it goes on, gets more complicated, a little more demanding, a little more ambiguous or speculative, so that we're drifting away from the casual beginning of the poem into something a little more serious.” [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poet hopes the poem will become more complex, demanding, and ambiguous as it progresses, moving away from its simple start. **In simple terms:** Poem should evolve from simple to complex. Key Takeaway Embrace growth and depth in creative work. Themes creativity evolution complexity Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary reflective When to use this quote - writing workshops - academic study - personal journaling Key Concepts artistic development literary ambition ambiguity Questions to Reflect On - How does complexity affect your engagement? - When is simplicity preferable? A Different Perspective Complexity may alienate some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambiguous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguous/) [Beginning Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning-poem-3892045/) [Casual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/casual/) [Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated/) [Drifting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drifting/) [Drifting away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drifting-away/) [Gets Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gets-complicated-500175/) [Goes on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goes-on/) [Little Ambiguous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-ambiguous-1689794/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Poem Goes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem-goes-2550229/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Serious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serious/) ## Related quotes > [“Granana lives on the other side of the island. She's eighty-four, I'm twelve, and Wallow's fourteen, so it's a little ambiguous as to who's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-russell/granana-lives-on-the-other-side-of-the-island-she-s-eighty-four-i-m/) [Karen Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-russell/) > [Every phrase and every sentence is an end and a beginning, every poem an epitaph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-phrase-and-every-sentence-is-an-end-and-a-beginning-every-poem/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Beginning a poem, the poet as a rule doesn't know the way it's going to come out, and at times, he is very surprised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/beginning-a-poem-the-poet-as-a-rule-doesn-t-know-the-way-it-s-going/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [The closer you get to death, the more alive you feel. Dylan Thomas wrote, Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/the-closer-you-get-to-death-the-more-alive-you-feel-dylan-thomas/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [“Yes; the poem goes something like this: 'Bamboo without mind, yet sends thoughts soaring among clouds. Standing on the lone mountain, quiet, dignified, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/yes-the-poem-goes-something-like-this-bamboo-without-mind-yet-sends/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [There is nothing we should be quite so grateful for as the last line of the poem that goes, 'When your own heart asks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamamoto-tsunetomo/there-is-nothing-we-should-be-quite-so-grateful-for-as-the-last-line/) [Yamamoto Tsunetomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamamoto-tsunetomo/) > [I want to reiterate that my understanding of the poem is not the poem's core, true meaning. Once a poem goes out into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-want-to-reiterate-that-my-understanding-of-the-poem-is-not-the-poem/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [Once you say 'I love you,' that's when everything gets complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-you-say-i-love-you-that-s-when-everything-gets-complicated/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And sometimes the clergy are blindsided by that. Other times they realize that ahead of time and say they're not going to use those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/and-sometimes-the-clergy-are-blindsided-by-that-other-times-they/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [“An uncomplicated woman gets complicated when she finally says what she means.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-dunnehoff/an-uncomplicated-woman-gets-complicated-when-she-finally-says-what/) [Kathy Dunnehoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-dunnehoff/) > [It's very difficult for me to look at politics with clear eyes. I'll read a story in the paper and the first thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/said-sayrafiezadeh/it-s-very-difficult-for-me-to-look-at-politics-with-clear-eyes-i-ll/) [Said Sayrafiezadeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/said-sayrafiezadeh/) > [As you get older, life gets more complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-fitzpatrick/as-you-get-older-life-gets-more-complicated/) [Ryan Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-fitzpatrick/) > [Go back to the basics as life gets more complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-norton/go-back-to-the-basics-as-life-gets-more-complicated/) [Judy Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-norton/) > [When you add a period of 25 years between the playing and the listening, then the whole question of meaning gets very complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-parker/when-you-add-a-period-of-25-years-between-the-playing-and-the/) [Evan Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-parker/) > [You dig deeper and it gets more and more complicated, and you get confused, and it's tricky and it's hard, but... It is beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-cox/you-dig-deeper-and-it-gets-more-and-more-complicated-and-you-get/) [Brian Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-cox/) ## More by Billy Collins > [“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I think clarity is the real risk in poetry because you are exposed. You're out in the open field. You're actually saying things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-think-clarity-is-the-real-risk-in-poetry-because-you-are-exposed/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [...pleasure, of course, is a slippery word… Our pleasures ultimately belong to us, not to the pleasure's so](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/pleasure-of-course-is-a-slippery-word-our-pleasures-ultimately-belong/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I stared up at the ebbing quarter moon and the stars scattered like a handful of salt across the faraway sky...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-stared-up-at-the-ebbing-quarter-moon-and-the-stars-scattered-like-a/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Death is what makes life fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/death-is-what-makes-life-fun/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [A trouble with poetry is the presence of presumptuousness in poetry, the sense you get in a poem that the poet takes for granted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/a-trouble-with-poetry-is-the-presence-of-presumptuousness-in-poetry/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [You come by your style by learning what to leave out. At first you tend to overwrite—embellishment instead of insight. You either continue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/you-come-by-your-style-by-learning-what-to-leave-out-at-first-you/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [But my heart is always propped up in a field on its tripod, ready for the next arrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/but-my-heart-is-always-propped-up-in-a-field-on-its-tripod-ready-for/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I can hear the library humming in the night, a choir of authors murmuring inside their books along the unlit, alphabetical shelves, Giovanni Pontano…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-can-hear-the-library-humming-in-the-night-a-choir-of-authors/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Every Day Is for the Thief is a vivid, episodic evocation of the truism that you can't go home again; but that doesn't mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/every-day-is-for-the-thief-is-a-vivid-episodic-evocation-of-the/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Humor, for me, is really a gate of departure. Its a way of enticing a reader into a poem so that less funny things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/humor-for-me-is-really-a-gate-of-departure-its-a-way-of-enticing-a/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [You know how sometimes you just have a memory of looking up and seeing a face looking over your crib and then remember nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/you-know-how-sometimes-you-just-have-a-memory-of-looking-up-and/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Usually the poems are written in one sitting. There's always a groping towards some satisfying ending. But I'd say the hardest part is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/usually-the-poems-are-written-in-one-sitting-there-s-always-a-groping/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I was influenced by the Beats because I actually just began to commit adolescence around 1955, when "Howl" and Rebel Without a Cause and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-was-influenced-by-the-beats-because-i-actually-just-began-to-commit/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Some difficulty is warranted and other difficulty I think is gratuitous. And I think I can tell the difference. There are certainly very difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/some-difficulty-is-warranted-and-other-difficulty-i-think-is/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) [Explore all 141 Billy Collins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) ## More Ambiguous quotes > [Virtually every major technological advance in the history of the human species- back to the invention of stone tools and the domestication of fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/virtually-every-major-technological-advance-in-the-history-of-the/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Happiness can be bought with a bottle of wine and has become ambiguous through overuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-can-be-bought-with-a-bottle-of-wine-and-has-become/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Somehow, in the novel format, I don't really like to do upfront, ideological discussion. In my heart, literature remains a poetic and ambiguous medium.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xiaolu-guo/somehow-in-the-novel-format-i-don-t-really-like-to-do-upfront/) [Xiaolu Guo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xiaolu-guo/) > [Redundancy is ambiguous because it seems like a waste if nothing unusual happens. Except that something unusual happens-usually .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/redundancy-is-ambiguous-because-it-seems-like-a-waste-if-nothing/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“In general we are reminded that the word heimlich is not unambiguous, but belongs to two sets of ideas, which, without being contradictory, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/in-general-we-are-reminded-that-the-word-heimlich-is-not-unambiguous/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [I want each poem to be ambiguous enough that its meaning can shift, depending on the reader's own frame of reference, and depending on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-want-each-poem-to-be-ambiguous-enough-that-its-meaning-can-shift/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [Photography appears to be an easy activity; in fact it is a varied and ambiguous process in which the only common denominator among its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-cartier-bresson/photography-appears-to-be-an-easy-activity-in-fact-it-is-a-varied-and/) [Henri Cartier-Bresson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-cartier-bresson/) > [My drawings inspire, and are not to be defined. They place us, as does music, in the ambiguous realm of the undetermined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odilon-redon/my-drawings-inspire-and-are-not-to-be-defined-they-place-us-as-does/) [Odilon Redon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odilon-redon/) > [Words are such gross machinery, so primitive and ambiguous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/words-are-such-gross-machinery-so-primitive-and-ambiguous/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [Wave particle duality is a core feature of our world. Or rather, we should say, it is a core feature of our mathematical descriptions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-wertheim/wave-particle-duality-is-a-core-feature-of-our-world-or-rather-we/) [Margaret Wertheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-wertheim/) > [Humor is really one of the hardest things to define, very hard. And it's very ambiguous. You have it or you don't. 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