--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every poem I write falls short in some…" description: "\"Every poem I write falls short in some important way. But I go on trying to write the one that won’t.\" — Dorianne Laux" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fb/dorianne-laux-12252_fall_every-poem-i-write-falls-short-in-some-i_332363.png" --- # Every poem I write falls short in some important way. But… ![“Every poem I write falls short in some important way. But I go on trying to write the one that won’t.” quote by Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fb/dorianne-laux-12252_fall_every-poem-i-write-falls-short-in-some-i_332363.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fb/dorianne-laux-12252_fall_every-poem-i-write-falls-short-in-some-i_332363.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fb/dorianne-laux-12252_fall_every-poem-i-write-falls-short-in-some-i_332363.png) > “Every poem I write falls short in some important way. But I go on trying to write the one that won’t.” [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer feels each poem is imperfect but persists, hoping to create a flawless piece. **In simple terms:** Every poem is imperfect; keep trying for the perfect one. Key Takeaway Accept imperfection, keep creating. Themes creativity perseverance self‑criticism Mood reflective determined Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal journaling - submission to contests Key Concepts artistic integrity growth Questions to Reflect On - What does “the one that won’t” represent for you? - How can you value effort over flawless outcomes? A Different Perspective Perfection is unattainable; striving may hinder joy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Falls Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falls-short-856978/) [Goes on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goes-on/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem/) [Poem Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem-write-972520/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Trying Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying-write/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“The Life is Poem, we write when we are Young, sing along all through Life, and we reap the truth when we are Old.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-t-v-rao-md/the-life-is-poem-we-write-when-we-are-young-sing-along-all-through/) [Dr.T.V.Rao MD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-t-v-rao-md/) > [I make a discovery in a poem as I write it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-make-a-discovery-in-a-poem-as-i-write-it/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Soccer is like a poem, you write it with your soul and heart, but you say it with your feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humaira/soccer-is-like-a-poem-you-write-it-with-your-soul-and-heart-but-you/) [Humaira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humaira/) > [Every poem that I write is, in a sense, trying to find adequate words for this unspeakable word, around which my entire life turns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hart/every-poem-that-i-write-is-in-a-sense-trying-to-find-adequate-words/) [Kevin Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hart/) > [Write the poem only you can write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/write-the-poem-only-you-can-write/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [A poem I write is not just about me; it is about national identity, not just regional but national, the history of people in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethewey/a-poem-i-write-is-not-just-about-me-it-is-about-national-identity-not/) [Natasha Trethewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethewey/) > [I'm never quite sure how the poem is going to resolve itself and that I'm always in some way surprised. I make a discovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-m-never-quite-sure-how-the-poem-is-going-to-resolve-itself-and-that/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [“sad is the poem i will never write”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeet-how-romentic/sad-is-the-poem-i-will-never-write/) [Jeet how Romentic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeet-how-romentic/) > [“I wanna make growing old with you the last poem I ever have to write”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-biondi/i-wanna-make-growing-old-with-you-the-last-poem-i-ever-have-to-write/) [Michael Biondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-biondi/) > [“Where her magic falls short, her fists get the job done.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassi-carver/where-her-magic-falls-short-her-fists-get-the-job-done/) [Cassi Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassi-carver/) > [The system of morality to be gathered from the ancient sages falls very short of that delivered in the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-system-of-morality-to-be-gathered-from-the-ancient-sages-falls/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I'm a fan of Otis Redding. I've sat around trying to copy some of his phrasing and learn from him, but it kinda falls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-carmack/i-m-a-fan-of-otis-redding-i-ve-sat-around-trying-to-copy-some-of-his/) [Chris Carmack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-carmack/) > [Science sometimes falls short when trying to fathom the depths of our essence - and our inspiration comes from that essence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-secretan/science-sometimes-falls-short-when-trying-to-fathom-the-depths-of-our/) [Lance Secretan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-secretan/) > [Ability hits the mark where presumption overshoots and diffidence falls short.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/golda-meir/ability-hits-the-mark-where-presumption-overshoots-and-diffidence/) [Golda Meir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/golda-meir/) > [“Life may imitate art – but it usually falls short of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/life-may-imitate-art-but-it-usually-falls-short-of-it/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) ## More by Dorianne Laux > [We aren't suggesting that mental instability or unhappiness makes one a better poet, or a poet at all; and contrary to the romantic notion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/we-aren-t-suggesting-that-mental-instability-or-unhappiness-makes-one/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [“How many losses does it take to stop a heart, to lay waste to the vocabularies of desire?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/how-many-losses-does-it-take-to-stop-a-heart-to-lay-waste-to-the/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [And I saw it didn't matter who had loved me or who I loved. I was alone. The black oily asphalt, the slick beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/and-i-saw-it-didn-t-matter-who-had-loved-me-or-who-i-loved-i-was/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [The reason I started writing was because I was a little kid in San Diego who was getting beaten up by her dad and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/the-reason-i-started-writing-was-because-i-was-a-little-kid-in-san/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [I would say my life experiences are my poetry, whether I'm writing about those actual, factual experiences or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/i-would-say-my-life-experiences-are-my-poetry-whether-i-m-writing/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [Good writing works from a simple premise: your experience is not yours alone, but in some sense a metaphor for everyone's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/good-writing-works-from-a-simple-premise-your-experience-is-not-yours/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [We're all writing out of a wound, and that's where our song comes from. The wound is singing. We're singing back to those who've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/we-re-all-writing-out-of-a-wound-and-that-s-where-our-song-comes-from/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [You are not your poetry. Your self-esteem shouldn't depend on whether you publish, or whether some editor or writer you admire thinks you're any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/you-are-not-your-poetry-your-self-esteem-shouldn-t-depend-on-whether/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [Someone spoke to me last night, told me the truth. Just a few words, but I recognized it. I knew I should make myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/someone-spoke-to-me-last-night-told-me-the-truth-just-a-few-words-but/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [ It's difficult to talk about \[W.S.\] Merwin's poems, as it's hard to talk about a feeling or a smell. It is what it is,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/it-s-difficult-to-talk-about-w-s-merwin-s-poems-as-it-s-hard-to-talk/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [We continue to speak, if only in whispers, to something inside us that longs to be named.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/we-continue-to-speak-if-only-in-whispers-to-something-inside-us-that/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [W.S Merwin says "after three days of rain" and I write "After Twelve Days of Rain." I like his quietude. I admire his ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/w-s-merwin-says-after-three-days-of-rain-and-i-write-after-twelve/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [If you want to be a writer in the world you really have to sit down and say, 'Why do I want to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/if-you-want-to-be-a-writer-in-the-world-you-really-have-to-sit-down/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [Who you are contributes to your poetry in a number of important ways, but you shouldn't identify with your poems so closely that when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/who-you-are-contributes-to-your-poetry-in-a-number-of-important-ways/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [I love people and psychology. As a writer, I’m not so interested in Fred getting from the living room to the car. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/i-love-people-and-psychology-as-a-writer-i-m-not-so-interested-in/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) [Explore all 55 Dorianne Laux quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) ## More Fall quotes > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [“When you jump, all you're going to do is fall. But leaping? Leaping is when you think there's something on the other side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-jump-all-you-re-going-to-do-is-fall-but-leaping-leaping-is/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [To hurry through the rise and fall of a fine, full sentence is like defying the role of time in human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/to-hurry-through-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-fine-full-sentence-is-like/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [“We will all, at some point in our lives, fall. Every single one of us. We shouldn't spend our time trying to avoid falling.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-williams/we-will-all-at-some-point-in-our-lives-fall-every-single-one-of-us-we/) [Nicole Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-williams/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [How wonderful it would be to scatter words as they rise to consciousness, to let them lie where they fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/how-wonderful-it-would-be-to-scatter-words-as-they-rise-to/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [My life is a crystal teardrop. There are snowflakes falling in the teardrop and little figures trudging in slow motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-baez/my-life-is-a-crystal-teardrop-there-are-snowflakes-falling-in-the/) [Joan Baez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-baez/) > [Life will knock you down & it's tough, but you are strong enough. Get back up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-will-knock-you-down-it-s-tough-but-you-are-strong-enough-get/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I was 13, I began relaxing my hair, and that meant when I turned 18 it began to crack and fall off, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soledad-o-brien/when-i-was-13-i-began-relaxing-my-hair-and-that-meant-when-i-turned/) [Soledad O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soledad-o-brien/) > [“If you ever falling but can't see the bottom be glad you can't because at the bottom it's either a soft land or rocks!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelseigh-ashton/if-you-ever-falling-but-can-t-see-the-bottom-be-glad-you-can-t/) [Kelseigh Ashton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelseigh-ashton/) > [Empires fall, ids explode, great symphonies are written, and behind all of it is a single instinct that demands satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/empires-fall-ids-explode-great-symphonies-are-written-and-behind-all/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) [Browse all 13,401 Fall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every poem I write falls short in some important way. 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