--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The personal vocabulary, the individual…" description: "\"The personal vocabulary, the individual melody whose metre is one's biography, joins in that sound, with any luck, and the body moves like a walking, a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/067/derek-walcott-2220_body_the-personal-vocabulary-the-individual-m_1143249.jpg" --- # The personal vocabulary, the individual melody whose metre… ![“The personal vocabulary, the individual melody whose metre is one's biography, joins in that sound, with any luck, and the body moves like a walking, a waking island.” quote by Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/067/derek-walcott-2220_body_the-personal-vocabulary-the-individual-m_1143249.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/067/derek-walcott-2220_body_the-personal-vocabulary-the-individual-m_1143249.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/067/derek-walcott-2220_body_the-personal-vocabulary-the-individual-m_1143249.jpg) > “The personal vocabulary, the individual melody whose metre is one's biography, joins in that sound, with any luck, and the body moves like a walking, a waking island.” [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Your personal story shapes your unique voice, influencing how you move through life. **In simple terms:** Your life’s rhythm guides your actions. Key Takeaway Embrace your story’s influence. Themes identity creativity life expression rhythm Mood reflective inspirational Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - writing - public speaking - personal branding Key Concepts personal narrative metaphor biography Questions to Reflect On - How does your biography shape your choices? - What rhythms do you notice in your daily life? A Different Perspective Your voice may be limited by external expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Melody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melody/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Vocabulary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vocabulary/) ## Related quotes > [“most people are either sleep walking through their waking life or wake walking through their sleeping life. either way they're not getting much out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waking-life/most-people-are-either-sleep-walking-through-their-waking-life-or/) waking life > [My father had the bug. Ever since I can remember walking, he was waking me up at 5 in the morning to go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-yellin/my-father-had-the-bug-ever-since-i-can-remember-walking-he-was-waking/) [Dustin Yellin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-yellin/) > [“Don't you think a dream would feel shy if it were seen walking about in the waking world?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-3/don-t-you-think-a-dream-would-feel-shy-if-it-were-seen-walking-about/) [C S Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-3/) > [The body moves naturally, automatically, unconsciously, without any personal intervention or awareness. But if we begin to use our faculty of reasoning, our actions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaimal-yogis/the-body-moves-naturally-automatically-unconsciously-without-any/) [Jaimal Yogis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaimal-yogis/) > [“I have never seen him run like this, fast, free, strong, wild. He looks so beautiful, his body moves so right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/i-have-never-seen-him-run-like-this-fast-free-strong-wild-he-looks-so/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [I have risen to a body not yet born, existing like a light around a body through which the body moves like a sliding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/i-have-risen-to-a-body-not-yet-born-existing-like-a-light-around-a/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [“Dance isn’t about winning or losing,” he says, “it’s about enjoying how your body moves.” I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padma-venkatraman/dance-isn-t-about-winning-or-losing-he-says-it-s-about-enjoying-how/) [Padma Venkatraman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padma-venkatraman/) > [A lot can be said with just a look, or the way the body moves. Each song is a different character. So each song…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/a-lot-can-be-said-with-just-a-look-or-the-way-the-body-moves-each/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) > [“Moving your body moves energy. You can create or demolish whatever you need with kinetic dynamism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-leigh-mercree/moving-your-body-moves-energy-you-can-create-or-demolish-whatever-you/) [Amy Leigh Mercree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-leigh-mercree/) > [OUR HEART IS THE BEAT THAT WE GO BY, OUR BRAIN HAS THE LYRICS THAT TO WITH IT, AND OUR BODY HAS THE MOVES…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shar-rae/our-heart-is-the-beat-that-we-go-by-our-brain-has-the-lyrics-that-to/) [Shar-rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shar-rae/) > [I really like the structure of my body. It moves well, it looks good, it photographs well, it understands gesture and nuance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-mae-weems/i-really-like-the-structure-of-my-body-it-moves-well-it-looks-good-it/) [Carrie Mae Weems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-mae-weems/) > [Though the body moves, the soul may stay behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murasaki-shikibu/though-the-body-moves-the-soul-may-stay-behind/) [Murasaki Shikibu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murasaki-shikibu/) > [The body moves naturally, automatically, without any personal intervention or awareness. If we think too much, our actions become slow and hesitant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/the-body-moves-naturally-automatically-without-any-personal/) [Taisen Deshimaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/) > [When a body moves, it's the most revealing thing. Dance for me a minute, and I'll tell you who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-baryshnikov/when-a-body-moves-it-s-the-most-revealing-thing-dance-for-me-a-minute/) [Mikhail Baryshnikov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-baryshnikov/) > [In the dance the boundaries between body and soul are effaced. The body moves itself spiritually, the spirit bodily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-van-der-leeuw/in-the-dance-the-boundaries-between-body-and-soul-are-effaced-the/) [Gerard van der Leeuw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-van-der-leeuw/) ## More by Derek Walcott > [Memory that yearns to join the centre, a limb remembering the body from which it has been severed, like those bamboo thighs of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/memory-that-yearns-to-join-the-centre-a-limb-remembering-the-body/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast on your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/peel-your-own-image-from-the-mirror-sit-feast-on-your-life/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [I don't feel I've arrived home until I get on the beach. All my life, the theater of the sea has been a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-don-t-feel-i-ve-arrived-home-until-i-get-on-the-beach-all-my-life/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“As human beings we’ve certainly suffered the loss of awe, the loss of sacredness, and the loss of the fact that we’re not here—…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/as-human-beings-we-ve-certainly-suffered-the-loss-of-awe-the-loss-of/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“I shall unlearn feeling, unlearn my gift. That is greater and harder than what passes there for life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-shall-unlearn-feeling-unlearn-my-gift-that-is-greater-and-harder/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The greatest writers have been, at heart, parochial, provincial in their rootedness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-greatest-writers-have-been-at-heart-parochial-provincial-in-their/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The time will come when, with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-time-will-come-when-with-elation-you-will-greet-yourself-arriving/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Break a vase, and the love that reassembles the fragments is stronger than that love which took its symmetry for granted when it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/break-a-vase-and-the-love-that-reassembles-the-fragments-is-stronger/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [My mother, who is nearly ninety now, still talks continually about my father. All my life, I've been aware of her grief about his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-mother-who-is-nearly-ninety-now-still-talks-continually-about-my/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [My family background really only consists of my mother. She was a widow. My father died quite young; he must have been thirty-one. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-family-background-really-only-consists-of-my-mother-she-was-a/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“I am the man my father loved and was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-am-the-man-my-father-loved-and-was/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Like any art, what is the most imprisoning thing is also the most delivering thing. If an actor knows he only has 12 syllables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/like-any-art-what-is-the-most-imprisoning-thing-is-also-the-most/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The thing that is believed is a reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-thing-that-is-believed-is-a-reality/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The history of the world - by which, of course, we mean Europe - is a record of intertribal lacerations, of ethnic cleansings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-history-of-the-world-by-which-of-course-we-mean-europe-is-a/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The English language is nobody's special property. It is the property of the imagination: it is the property of the language itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-english-language-is-nobody-s-special-property-it-is-the-property/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) [Explore all 177 Derek Walcott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. 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