--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wish I could find words--serious…" description: "\"“I wish I could find words--serious, beautiful words--to describe it in the afternoon sunlight; the more I strive for them, the more they utterly elude..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f0/dodie-smith-1724_afternoon-sun_i-wish-i-could-find-words-serious-beauti_2220505.png" --- # I wish I could find words--serious, beautiful words--to… ![“I wish I could find words--serious, beautiful words--to describe it in the afternoon sunlight; the more I strive for them, the more they utterly elude me.” quote by Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f0/dodie-smith-1724_afternoon-sun_i-wish-i-could-find-words-serious-beauti_2220505.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f0/dodie-smith-1724_afternoon-sun_i-wish-i-could-find-words-serious-beauti_2220505.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f0/dodie-smith-1724_afternoon-sun_i-wish-i-could-find-words-serious-beauti_2220505.png) > ““I wish I could find words--serious, beautiful words--to describe it in the afternoon sunlight; the more I strive for them, the more they utterly elude me.”” [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) ## 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 struggles to find language that matches the beauty and seriousness of an experience, feeling that words always fall short. **In simple terms:** Finding perfect words is hard. Key Takeaway Accept imperfection in description. Themes art language beauty Mood reflective melancholic Type literary poetic When to use this quote - writing poetry - describing nature - artistic critique Key Concepts aesthetic expression limitation Questions to Reflect On - What moments feel indescribable? - How do you convey feeling without words? A Different Perspective Words may never fully capture some moments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afternoon sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon-sun/) [Beautiful words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-words/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ## Related quotes > [“Beautiful words were beautiful words, even to the most practical of minds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-ahdieh/beautiful-words-were-beautiful-words-even-to-the-most-practical-of/) [Renee Ahdieh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-ahdieh/) > [“They were beautiful beyond words, beautiful beyond understanding. So beautiful, I wanted to tear out my heart and hand it over, because after seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-zettel/they-were-beautiful-beyond-words-beautiful-beyond-understanding-so/) [Sarah Zettel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-zettel/) > [Trustable words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not trustable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/trustable-words-are-not-beautiful-beautiful-words-are-not-trustable/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [I wish those words I said to you didn't come out. the courage it took me to open my chest an dgrab the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-sartin/i-wish-those-words-i-said-to-you-didn-t-come-out-the-courage-it-took/) [Megan Sartin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-sartin/) > [“I wish I could put his words in my pocket just to touch them once in a while and remind myself that they exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/i-wish-i-could-put-his-words-in-my-pocket-just-to-touch-them-once-in/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“Disquite Sonnet I wish that I could find the words to tell You were it hurts; nothing breaking my skin Slices whispering in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-trithardt/disquite-sonnet-i-wish-that-i-could-find-the-words-to-tell-you-were/) Kathy Trithardt > [I wish I had more than these words to let you know how much I care of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wish-i-had-more-than-these-words-to-let-you-know-how-much-i-care-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wish words were like little toy guns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-underwood/i-wish-words-were-like-little-toy-guns/) [Carrie Underwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-underwood/) > [“Don’t make me out to be something worth saving. We both know I’m a waste.” His voice was so quiet. “I wish I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/don-t-make-me-out-to-be-something-worth-saving-we-both-know-i-m-a/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [Don't let anyone bring you down with they're words because you are beautiful, young, and gorgeous. No one can ever take that away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-let-anyone-bring-you-down-with-they-re-words-because-you-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Kind words are beautiful and easy to speak, but they are just a shadow and not the real love”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emilia-giurgea-martinas/kind-words-are-beautiful-and-easy-to-speak-but-they-are-just-a-shadow/) Emilia Giurgea Martinas > [Lover's words: “How beautiful you are, now that you love me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dietrich/lover-s-words-how-beautiful-you-are-now-that-you-love-me/) [Marlene Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dietrich/) > [But he thought all the strange words were beautiful, and he had never had a book of his own before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/but-he-thought-all-the-strange-words-were-beautiful-and-he-had-never/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) > [My father was the first to read in his family, and he said to me that words were the first beautiful thing he ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/my-father-was-the-first-to-read-in-his-family-and-he-said-to-me-that/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [“Speak only when your words are more beautiful than silence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/speak-only-when-your-words-are-more-beautiful-than-silence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Dodie Smith > [“I glanced through another page in case I had missed something, and came to the description of Simon's face as he lay on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/i-glanced-through-another-page-in-case-i-had-missed-something-and/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [They call them the haunted shores, these stretches of Devonshire and Cornwall and Ireland which rear up against the westward ocean. Mists gather here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/they-call-them-the-haunted-shores-these-stretches-of-devonshire-and/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“Now, paper and pencils," said Miss Marcy, clapping her hands. Writing paper is scarce in this house, and I had no intention of tearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/now-paper-and-pencils-said-miss-marcy-clapping-her-hands-writing/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [It's odd how different a house feels when one is alone in it. It makes it easier to think rather private thoughts...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/it-s-odd-how-different-a-house-feels-when-one-is-alone-in-it-it-makes/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [The tea was a comfort - and by that time I more than needed comfort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/the-tea-was-a-comfort-and-by-that-time-i-more-than-needed-comfort/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [Like many other much-loved humans, they believed that they owned their dogs, instead of realizing that their dogs owned them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/like-many-other-much-loved-humans-they-believed-that-they-owned-their/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“And I suspect that, to the eyes of love, love shows. I knew about you as well as about myself, almost from the beginning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/and-i-suspect-that-to-the-eyes-of-love-love-shows-i-knew-about-you-as/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“The thought was horrible, yet fascinating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/the-thought-was-horrible-yet-fascinating/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“What I'd really hate would be the settled feeling, with nothing but happiness to look forward to. Of course no life is perfectly happy-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/what-i-d-really-hate-would-be-the-settled-feeling-with-nothing-but/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [Truthfulness so often goes with ruthlessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/truthfulness-so-often-goes-with-ruthlessness/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [Am I really admitting that my sister is determined to marry a man she has only seen once and doesn't much like the look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/am-i-really-admitting-that-my-sister-is-determined-to-marry-a-man-she/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“There are some people who always find beauty makes them feel sadder, which is a very mysterious thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/there-are-some-people-who-always-find-beauty-makes-them-feel-sadder/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“You're the kind of child who might develop a passion for Bach." I told him I hadn't at school. The one Bach piece I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/you-re-the-kind-of-child-who-might-develop-a-passion-for-bach-i-told/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [When things mean a very great deal to you, exciting anticipation just isn't safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/when-things-mean-a-very-great-deal-to-you-exciting-anticipation-just/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [I could marry the Devil himself if he had some money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/i-could-marry-the-devil-himself-if-he-had-some-money/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) [Explore all 211 Dodie Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) ## More Afternoon sun quotes > [“Raw Living: Picking blackberries, beneath late afternoon sun; a sunset reminiscent of watermelon sangria, as the scent of honeysuckle accosts me and the ducks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandi-l-bates/raw-living-picking-blackberries-beneath-late-afternoon-sun-a-sunset/) [Brandi L. Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandi-l-bates/) > [“There was no movement around the discoloured walls, and Lucy turned the Land Rover about in a slow crawl, the tires crunching on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-swallow/there-was-no-movement-around-the-discoloured-walls-and-lucy-turned/) [James Swallow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-swallow/) > [“ Benvenuta a la Via dell’Amore,” he says, poking a bright pink lock with Ashlee + Jake written on it in white paint. “What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-rae/benvenuta-a-la-via-dell-amore-he-says-poking-a-bright-pink-lock-with/) [Kristin Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-rae/) > [But they never last, the golden days. And it can be sad, the sun in the afternoon, can't it? Yes, it can be sad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rhys/but-they-never-last-the-golden-days-and-it-can-be-sad-the-sun-in-the/) [Jean Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rhys/) > [You are my dream when I'm not sleeping, my shining star in the afternoon, my sun to guide my way in the middle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-my-dream-when-i-m-not-sleeping-my-shining-star-in-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“before, has it?” Molly shook her head. “No. But I still want him home.” She smiled at the sight of her three children napping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-shorey/before-has-it-molly-shook-her-head-no-but-i-still-want-him-home-she/) [Ann Shorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-shorey/) > [“Twenty-seven years, Colin Hilliard thought, buttoning his suit as he strode out from under the cover of Balmoral’s carriage porch—the early afternoon sun shining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-england/twenty-seven-years-colin-hilliard-thought-buttoning-his-suit-as-he/) [Stephen England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-england/) > [“A book alighted, almost obediently, like a white pigeon, in his hands, wings fluttering. In the dim, wavering light, a page hung open and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-book-alighted-almost-obediently-like-a-white-pigeon-in-his-hands/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The afternoon sunk into the tall grass growing on the roadside. The distant dome turned from coral to burnt umber, a final flash of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-rich/the-afternoon-sunk-into-the-tall-grass-growing-on-the-roadside-the/) [Megan Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-rich/) > [The grapes on a score of rolling hills are red with autumn flame. Across Sonoma Mountain wisps of sea fog are stealing. The afternoon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/the-grapes-on-a-score-of-rolling-hills-are-red-with-autumn-flame/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [“People who live in big cities are deprieved, consciously or unconsciously, of those almost indefinable things on which our human sensitivity feeds, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-fonteyn/people-who-live-in-big-cities-are-deprieved-consciously-or/) [Margot Fonteyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-fonteyn/) > [“The cold wind blew unceasingly from the north: a violent wind, a merciless wind, a wind that crept inside your ears and pressed hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-forrester/the-cold-wind-blew-unceasingly-from-the-north-a-violent-wind-a/) [John Forrester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-forrester/) > [Is it snowing where you are? All the world that I see from my tower is draped in white and the flakes are coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/is-it-snowing-where-you-are-all-the-world-that-i-see-from-my-tower-is/) [Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/) > [“(visions) of strange cities, of sandy plains, of gigantic ruins, of midnight skies with strange bright constellations, of mountain-passes, of grassy nooks flecked with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-evans/visions-of-strange-cities-of-sandy-plains-of-gigantic-ruins-of/) [Mary Ann Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-evans/) > [“hooded against the afternoon sun that shone in his face.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/hooded-against-the-afternoon-sun-that-shone-in-his-face/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) [Browse all 57 Afternoon sun quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon-sun/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I wish I could find words--serious, beautiful words--to describe it in the afternoon sunlight; the more I strive for them, the more they utterly elude me.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dodie Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/i-wish-i-could-find-words-serious-beautiful-words-to-describe-it-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afternoon sun" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/i-wish-i-could-find-words-serious-beautiful-words-to-describe-it-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f0/dodie-smith-1724_afternoon-sun_i-wish-i-could-find-words-serious-beauti_2220505.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f0/dodie-smith-1724_afternoon-sun_i-wish-i-could-find-words-serious-beauti_2220505.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f0/dodie-smith-1724_afternoon-sun_i-wish-i-could-find-words-serious-beauti_2220505.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I wish I could find words--serious, beautiful words--to describe it in the afternoon sunlight; the more I…” — Dodie Smith", "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": "Dodie Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I wish I could find words--serious,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/i-wish-i-could-find-words-serious-beautiful-words-to-describe-it-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/i-wish-i-could-find-words-serious-beautiful-words-to-describe-it-in/#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 } } ] } ```