--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A good poem has its own life. It's like…" description: "\"A good poem has its own life. It's like bringing a child into the world. You, the poet, birthed the child, but the child will surprise you continually...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/david-whyte-3502_art_a-good-poem-has-its-own-life-it-s-like-b_100923.jpg" --- # A good poem has its own life. It's like bringing a child… ![“A good poem has its own life. It's like bringing a child into the world. You, the poet, birthed the child, but the child will surprise you continually. I think a work of art has its own aliveness, its own future.” quote by David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/david-whyte-3502_art_a-good-poem-has-its-own-life-it-s-like-b_100923.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/david-whyte-3502_art_a-good-poem-has-its-own-life-it-s-like-b_100923.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/david-whyte-3502_art_a-good-poem-has-its-own-life-it-s-like-b_100923.jpg) > “A good poem has its own life. It's like bringing a child into the world. You, the poet, birthed the child, but the child will surprise you continually. I think a work of art has its own aliveness, its own future.” [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry possesses an autonomous vitality that can surprise its creator, suggesting art evolves beyond the poet’s initial intention. **In simple terms:** Art lives on its own, often beyond the creator’s expectations. Key Takeaway Creative works develop independent life. Themes creativity autonomy surprise artistic process Mood wonder inspiration Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - writing a novel - composing music - designing a product Key Concepts emergent meaning authorial humility Practical Applications - embrace uncertainty in creative projects - allow audience interpretation Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing a work’s autonomy affect your creative confidence? - Can you nurture surprise in your own art? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Aliveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-aliveness-1224035/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Good Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-poem-817267/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem/) [Poem Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem-life-1224034/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poet Birthed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet-birthed-1224036/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Works of art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/works-of-art/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“I am a butterfly poet birthed from pain flying with the freedom of my verses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-clevenger/i-am-a-butterfly-poet-birthed-from-pain-flying-with-the-freedom-of-my/) [Susie Clevenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-clevenger/) > [If you're going to write, write one poem all your life, let nobody read it, and then burn it. This is very young thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/if-you-re-going-to-write-write-one-poem-all-your-life-let-nobody-read/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“My Poem is life, and not finished. It shall never be finished. 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The remarks he makes about his poems are incidental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/a-successful-poem-says-what-a-poet-wants-to-say-and-more-with/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Every day we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one exquisite picture, and, if possible, speak a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/every-day-we-should-hear-at-least-one-little-song-read-one-good-poem/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [A good poem is a tautology. It expands one word by adding a number which clarify it, thus making a new word which has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alasdair-gray/a-good-poem-is-a-tautology-it-expands-one-word-by-adding-a-number/) [Alasdair Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alasdair-gray/) > [In every good poem everything must be both deliberate and instinctive. That is how the poem becomes ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/in-every-good-poem-everything-must-be-both-deliberate-and-instinctive/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [... mathematics is very much like poetry ... what makes a good poem -- a great poem -- is that there is a large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lipman-bers/mathematics-is-very-much-like-poetry-what-makes-a-good-poem-a-great/) [Lipman Bers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lipman-bers/) ## More by David Whyte > [“The poet lives and writes at the frontier between deep internal experience and the revelations of the outer world. There is no going back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/the-poet-lives-and-writes-at-the-frontier-between-deep-internal/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [I returned to poetry as a more precise way to describe the world, more precise than science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/i-returned-to-poetry-as-a-more-precise-way-to-describe-the-world-more/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [What if the world is holding its breath - waiting for you to take the place that only you can fill?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/what-if-the-world-is-holding-its-breath-waiting-for-you-to-take-the/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [What you plan is too small for you to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/what-you-plan-is-too-small-for-you-to-live/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“It is not the thing you fear that you must deal with, it is the mother of the thing you fear. 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It is a place full of powerful undercurrents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/work-like-marriage-is-a-place-you-can-lose-yourself-more-easily/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [The moment you’ve uttered the exact dimensionality of your exile, you’re already turning towards home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/the-moment-you-ve-uttered-the-exact-dimensionality-of-your-exile-you/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“...wanting soul life without the dark, warming intelligence of personal doubt is like expecting an egg without the brooding heat of the mother hen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/wanting-soul-life-without-the-dark-warming-intelligence-of-personal/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [It's my contention that there is no sincere path a human being can take without breaking his or her heart...so it can be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/it-s-my-contention-that-there-is-no-sincere-path-a-human-being-can/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“FINISTERRE The road in the end taking the path the sun had taken, into the western sea, and the moon rising behind you as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/finisterre-the-road-in-the-end-taking-the-path-the-sun-had-taken-into/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“We can never know in the beginning, in giving ourselves to a person, to a work, to a marriage or to a cause, exactly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/we-can-never-know-in-the-beginning-in-giving-ourselves-to-a-person-to/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“When your eyes are tired the world is tired also. When your vision has gone no part of the world can find you. Time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/when-your-eyes-are-tired-the-world-is-tired-also-when-your-vision-has/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“You must learn one thing: the world was made to be free in. Give up all the other worlds except the one to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/you-must-learn-one-thing-the-world-was-made-to-be-free-in-give-up-all/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) [Explore all 129 David Whyte quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. 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