--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I invaded as invaded me." description: "\"“What I invaded as invaded me.”\" — Denise Levertov" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/denise-levertov-4487_invaded_what-i-invaded-as-invaded-me-601728_601728.png" --- # What I invaded as invaded me. ![“What I invaded as invaded me.” quote by Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/denise-levertov-4487_invaded_what-i-invaded-as-invaded-me-601728_601728.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/denise-levertov-4487_invaded_what-i-invaded-as-invaded-me-601728_601728.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/denise-levertov-4487_invaded_what-i-invaded-as-invaded-me-601728_601728.png) > ““What I invaded as invaded me.”” [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A warning that our actions can turn against us when we fail to respect boundaries. **In simple terms:** Our deeds can become our downfall. Key Takeaway Respect limits, act responsibly. Themes responsibility consequences self‑awareness Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical advisory When to use this quote - personal relationships - environmental policy - legal decisions Key Concepts ethics reciprocity Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure your actions don’t harm yourself? - What boundaries do you need to set? A Different Perspective Actions may be justified but still harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Invaded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invaded/) [Invaded Invaded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invaded-invaded-4904890/) ## Related quotes > [“What I invaded has invaded me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/what-i-invaded-has-invaded-me/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [We have not invaded anyone. We have not conquered anyone. We have not grabbed their land, their culture, their history and tried to enforce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-have-not-invaded-anyone-we-have-not-conquered-anyone-we-have-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Right after we invaded Iraq, I put a sign on my lawn that said "War is not the answer." That sign was either defaced,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-haggis/right-after-we-invaded-iraq-i-put-a-sign-on-my-lawn-that-said-war-is/) [Paul Haggis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-haggis/) > [I don't like having my space invaded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shia-labeouf/i-don-t-like-having-my-space-invaded/) [Shia LaBeouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shia-labeouf/) > [A good model of how to 'work with the enemy' internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/a-good-model-of-how-to-work-with-the-enemy-internally-is-presented-by/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [“I fucked her face, but I’m the one who got invaded. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annika-martin/i-fucked-her-face-but-i-m-the-one-who-got-invaded-i/) [Annika Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annika-martin/) > [Breaking into a country signals quite reliably a willingness to break yet more of the invaded country's laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilana-mercer/breaking-into-a-country-signals-quite-reliably-a-willingness-to-break/) [Ilana Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilana-mercer/) > [“You invaded Narnia. You have no more right leading than Miraz does. Peter Pevensie: You, him, your father! Narnia's better off without the lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/you-invaded-narnia-you-have-no-more-right-leading-than-miraz-does/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [God told me to smite Osama bin Laden, so I invaded Afghanistan. Then He told me to smite Saddam Hussein, so I invaded Iraq.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-told-me-to-smite-osama-bin-laden-so-i-invaded-afghanistan-then-he/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Has a world composed of "us" and "not us" been invaded at last?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bisco-hatori/has-a-world-composed-of-us-and-not-us-been-invaded-at-last/) [Bisco Hatori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bisco-hatori/) > [I was in Shanghai when the Japanese invaded China. I was there in Shanghai when, the morning after Pearl Harbor, they seized Shanghai.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-was-in-shanghai-when-the-japanese-invaded-china-i-was-there-in/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [William: What do you think of the fact that your home has been invaded by women? Maddox: I couldn’t be more pleased, as long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/william-what-do-you-think-of-the-fact-that-your-home-has-been-invaded/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [That's how we invaded Iraq, through the fear of an 'evil empire,' and it just makes people feel like bulls with the toreadors -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/that-s-how-we-invaded-iraq-through-the-fear-of-an-evil-empire-and-it/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) > [On the contrary, the characteristic element of the present situation is that economic questions have finally and irrevocably invaded the domain of public life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-henderson/on-the-contrary-the-characteristic-element-of-the-present-situation/) [Arthur Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-henderson/) > [I'd like to keep work work and life life. It means you've got your life to come back to, somewhere to come home to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcavoy/i-d-like-to-keep-work-work-and-life-life-it-means-you-ve-got-your/) [James McAvoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcavoy/) ## More by Denise Levertov > [Death and pain dominate this world, for though many are cured, they leave still weak, still tremulous, still knowing mortality has whispered to them;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/death-and-pain-dominate-this-world-for-though-many-are-cured-they/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [The artist must create himself or be born again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/the-artist-must-create-himself-or-be-born-again/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [I believe every space and comma is a living part of the poem and has its function, just as every muscle and pore of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/i-believe-every-space-and-comma-is-a-living-part-of-the-poem-and-has/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [Each part of speech a spark awaiting redemption, each a virtue, a power in abeyance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/each-part-of-speech-a-spark-awaiting-redemption-each-a-virtue-a-power/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [It is fatal to one's artistic life to talk about something this is in process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/it-is-fatal-to-one-s-artistic-life-to-talk-about-something-this-is-in/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [If woman is inconstant, good, I am faithful to ebb and flow, I fall in season and now is a time of ripening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/if-woman-is-inconstant-good-i-am-faithful-to-ebb-and-flow-i-fall-in/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [Putting his hope in certain death, lowering his head again to the grass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/putting-his-hope-in-certain-death-lowering-his-head-again-to-the-grass/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [slowly the pale dew-beads of light lapped up from flowers can thicken, darken to gold: honey of the human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/slowly-the-pale-dew-beads-of-light-lapped-up-from-flowers-can-thicken/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [“I am, a shadow that grows longer as the sun moves, drawn out on a thread of wonder. If I bear burdens they begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/i-am-a-shadow-that-grows-longer-as-the-sun-moves-drawn-out-on-a/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [In city, in suburb, in forest, no way to stretch out the arms - so if you would grow, go straight up or deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/in-city-in-suburb-in-forest-no-way-to-stretch-out-the-arms-so-if-you/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [I like to find what's not found at once, but lies within something of another nature, in repose, distinct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/i-like-to-find-what-s-not-found-at-once-but-lies-within-something-of/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [There is no savor more sweet, more salt than to be glad to be what, woman, and who, myself, I am...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/there-is-no-savor-more-sweet-more-salt-than-to-be-glad-to-be-what/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [This wild night, gathering the washing as if it were flowers animal vines twisting over theline and slapping my face lightly, soundless merriment in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/this-wild-night-gathering-the-washing-as-if-it-were-flowers-animal/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [The fire in leaf and grass so green it seems each summer the last summer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/the-fire-in-leaf-and-grass-so-green-it-seems-each-summer-the-last/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [I see him across the street, the blind man, and now he says he can find his way. He knows where he is going,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/i-see-him-across-the-street-the-blind-man-and-now-he-says-he-can-find/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) [Explore all 110 Denise Levertov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) ## More Invaded quotes > [I'd like to keep work work and life life. It means you've got your life to come back to, somewhere to come home to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcavoy/i-d-like-to-keep-work-work-and-life-life-it-means-you-ve-got-your/) [James McAvoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcavoy/) > [On the contrary, the characteristic element of the present situation is that economic questions have finally and irrevocably invaded the domain of public life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-henderson/on-the-contrary-the-characteristic-element-of-the-present-situation/) [Arthur Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-henderson/) > [That's how we invaded Iraq, through the fear of an 'evil empire,' and it just makes people feel like bulls with the toreadors -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/that-s-how-we-invaded-iraq-through-the-fear-of-an-evil-empire-and-it/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) > [William: What do you think of the fact that your home has been invaded by women? Maddox: I couldn’t be more pleased, as long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/william-what-do-you-think-of-the-fact-that-your-home-has-been-invaded/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [I was in Shanghai when the Japanese invaded China. I was there in Shanghai when, the morning after Pearl Harbor, they seized Shanghai.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-was-in-shanghai-when-the-japanese-invaded-china-i-was-there-in/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Has a world composed of "us" and "not us" been invaded at last?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bisco-hatori/has-a-world-composed-of-us-and-not-us-been-invaded-at-last/) [Bisco Hatori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bisco-hatori/) > [God told me to smite Osama bin Laden, so I invaded Afghanistan. Then He told me to smite Saddam Hussein, so I invaded Iraq.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-told-me-to-smite-osama-bin-laden-so-i-invaded-afghanistan-then-he/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [“You invaded Narnia. You have no more right leading than Miraz does. Peter Pevensie: You, him, your father! Narnia's better off without the lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/you-invaded-narnia-you-have-no-more-right-leading-than-miraz-does/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [Breaking into a country signals quite reliably a willingness to break yet more of the invaded country's laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilana-mercer/breaking-into-a-country-signals-quite-reliably-a-willingness-to-break/) [Ilana Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilana-mercer/) > [“I fucked her face, but I’m the one who got invaded. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annika-martin/i-fucked-her-face-but-i-m-the-one-who-got-invaded-i/) [Annika Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annika-martin/) > [A good model of how to 'work with the enemy' internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/a-good-model-of-how-to-work-with-the-enemy-internally-is-presented-by/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [I don't like having my space invaded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shia-labeouf/i-don-t-like-having-my-space-invaded/) [Shia LaBeouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shia-labeouf/) > [Right after we invaded Iraq, I put a sign on my lawn that said "War is not the answer." That sign was either defaced,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-haggis/right-after-we-invaded-iraq-i-put-a-sign-on-my-lawn-that-said-war-is/) [Paul Haggis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-haggis/) > [We have not invaded anyone. We have not conquered anyone. We have not grabbed their land, their culture, their history and tried to enforce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-have-not-invaded-anyone-we-have-not-conquered-anyone-we-have-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm being invaded by fashion pundits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cojocaru/i-m-being-invaded-by-fashion-pundits/) [Steven Cojocaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cojocaru/) [Browse all 83 Invaded quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invaded/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What I invaded as invaded me.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Denise Levertov" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/what-i-invaded-as-invaded-me/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Invaded" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/what-i-invaded-as-invaded-me/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/denise-levertov-4487_invaded_what-i-invaded-as-invaded-me-601728_601728.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/denise-levertov-4487_invaded_what-i-invaded-as-invaded-me-601728_601728.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/denise-levertov-4487_invaded_what-i-invaded-as-invaded-me-601728_601728.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What I invaded as invaded me.” — Denise Levertov", "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": "Denise Levertov", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What I invaded as invaded me.”", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/what-i-invaded-as-invaded-me/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/what-i-invaded-as-invaded-me/#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 } } ] } ```