--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Teenagers are free verse walking around…" description: "\"Teenagers are free verse walking around on two legs.\" — Dorothy Allison" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/dorothy-allison-2041_free-verse_teenagers-are-free-verse-walking-around_211778.png" --- # Teenagers are free verse walking around on two legs. ![“Teenagers are free verse walking around on two legs.” quote by Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/dorothy-allison-2041_free-verse_teenagers-are-free-verse-walking-around_211778.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/dorothy-allison-2041_free-verse_teenagers-are-free-verse-walking-around_211778.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/dorothy-allison-2041_free-verse_teenagers-are-free-verse-walking-around_211778.png) > “Teenagers are free verse walking around on two legs.” [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Teenagers are unrestricted, moving freely without constraints, yet still bound by their humanity. **In simple terms:** Youth are free but still human. Key Takeaway Recognize both freedom and responsibility in youth. Themes freedom humanity adolescence Mood reflective concerned Type observational critical When to use this quote - education - parenting - policy development - youth counseling Key Concepts existentialism social critique Questions to Reflect On - How can society balance teen freedom with guidance? - What responsibilities accompany freedom? A Different Perspective Freedom can lead to neglect of responsibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Free verse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-verse/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Teenager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teenager/) [Teenagers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teenagers/) [Verses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verses/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [I just did in my early twenties what most did when they were teenagers, being free and exploring and making mistakes, but I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ringwald/i-just-did-in-my-early-twenties-what-most-did-when-they-were/) [Molly Ringwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ringwald/) > [“Walking on two legs has nothing to do with intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosanna-p-brost/walking-on-two-legs-has-nothing-to-do-with-intelligence/) Rosanna P. Brost > [The Palestinians are beasts walking on two legs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-begin/the-palestinians-are-beasts-walking-on-two-legs/) [Menachem Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-begin/) > [I switch between fixed forms and free verse often, and enjoy being a poet who can "swing both ways," so to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-joseph/i-switch-between-fixed-forms-and-free-verse-often-and-enjoy-being-a/) [Allison Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-joseph/) > [I like poetry because poetry - even in free verse - is formal, and it has to be very concise and packed and rich,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pattiann-rogers/i-like-poetry-because-poetry-even-in-free-verse-is-formal-and-it-has/) [Pattiann Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pattiann-rogers/) > [The poet who writes "free" verse is like Robinson Crusoe on his desert island: he must do all his cooking, laundry and darning for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/the-poet-who-writes-free-verse-is-like-robinson-crusoe-on-his-desert/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [My own verse is usually free verse. The freer the better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/my-own-verse-is-usually-free-verse-the-freer-the-better/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [I recently bought a book of free verse. For twelve dollars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-recently-bought-a-book-of-free-verse-for-twelve-dollars/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [The form of free verse is as binding and as liberating as the form of a rondeau.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-hall/the-form-of-free-verse-is-as-binding-and-as-liberating-as-the-form-of/) [Donald Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-hall/) > [I started wanting desperately to say something, to make a point, to be heard - and I still feel that way. Free verse served…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-duhamel/i-started-wanting-desperately-to-say-something-to-make-a-point-to-be/) [Denise Duhamel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-duhamel/) > [If a poem is not memorable, there's probably something wrong. One of the problems of free verse is that much of the free verse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-morgan/if-a-poem-is-not-memorable-there-s-probably-something-wrong-one-of/) [Robert Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-morgan/) > [Free verse'? You may as well call sleeping in a ditch 'free architecture'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/free-verse-you-may-as-well-call-sleeping-in-a-ditch-free-architecture/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Modernism in other arts brought extreme difficulty. In poetry, the characteristic difficulty imported under the name of modernism was obscurity. But obscurity could just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/modernism-in-other-arts-brought-extreme-difficulty-in-poetry-the/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Free verse is chained in sentence-to-sentence links and breaks free in line breaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/free-verse-is-chained-in-sentence-to-sentence-links-and-breaks-free/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Among those today who believe that modern poetry must do without rhyme or metre, there is an assumption that the alternative to free verse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/among-those-today-who-believe-that-modern-poetry-must-do-without/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) ## More by Dorothy Allison > [she got a reputation for an easy smile and a sharp tongue, and using one to balance the other, she seemed friendly but distant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/she-got-a-reputation-for-an-easy-smile-and-a-sharp-tongue-and-using/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [“Simple answers, reductionist politics, are the most prone to compromise, to saying we’re addressing the essential issue and all that other stuff can slide.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/simple-answers-reductionist-politics-are-the-most-prone-to-compromise/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [People don't do right because of the fear of God or love of him. You do right because the world doesn't make sense if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/people-don-t-do-right-because-of-the-fear-of-god-or-love-of-him-you/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [“I had to say to her that it isn’t just men, and it isn’t just men “like that.” I had to talk to her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/i-had-to-say-to-her-that-it-isn-t-just-men-and-it-isn-t-just-men-like/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [“Entitlement, I have told them, is a matter of feeling like we rather than they.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/entitlement-i-have-told-them-is-a-matter-of-feeling-like-we-rather/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [“Love was something I would not have to worry about - the whole mystery of love, heartbreak songs, and family legends. Women who pined,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/love-was-something-i-would-not-have-to-worry-about-the-whole-mystery/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [“Behind the story I tell is the one I don't. Behind the story you hear is the one I wish I could make you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/behind-the-story-i-tell-is-the-one-i-don-t-behind-the-story-you-hear/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [Hunger makes you restless. you dream about food - not just any food, but perfect food, the best food, magical meals, famous and awe-inspiring,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/hunger-makes-you-restless-you-dream-about-food-not-just-any-food-but/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [I think I would have died if there hadn't been the women's movement. It gave me a vision that I could do something different,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/i-think-i-would-have-died-if-there-hadn-t-been-the-women-s-movement/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [People begin to write in order to create what they have not found and, a little bit, to give something back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/people-begin-to-write-in-order-to-create-what-they-have-not-found-and/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [The hardest thing to teach young writers is that it's wonderful to tell your truth. And that's what you should do. But it damn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/the-hardest-thing-to-teach-young-writers-is-that-it-s-wonderful-to/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [“The horror of class stratification, racism, and prejudice is that some people begin to believe that the security of their families and communities depends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/the-horror-of-class-stratification-racism-and-prejudice-is-that-some/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [I did not begin with craft, I began with strong feelings and worked toward craft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/i-did-not-begin-with-craft-i-began-with-strong-feelings-and-worked/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [I think I would have died if there hadn't been the women's movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/i-think-i-would-have-died-if-there-hadn-t-been-the-women-s-movement-2/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [When I was growing up, I always read horror books, while my sister read romance novels. My sister became unmarried and pregnant during high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/when-i-was-growing-up-i-always-read-horror-books-while-my-sister-read/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) [Explore all 189 Dorothy Allison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) ## More Free verse quotes > [“Leaches Ten Tall by Stewart Stafford Don't play this game with me, Predatory whelk of tide pools, Taint me as Rigoletto to a bawd,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-stafford/leaches-ten-tall-by-stewart-stafford-don-t-play-this-game-with-me/) [Stewart Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-stafford/) > [Among those today who believe that modern poetry must do without rhyme or metre, there is an assumption that the alternative to free verse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/among-those-today-who-believe-that-modern-poetry-must-do-without/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [“I am a poet writing frenetic free verse I am pretentious”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-h-hanson/i-am-a-poet-writing-frenetic-free-verse-i-am-pretentious/) Michael H. Hanson > [Free verse is chained in sentence-to-sentence links and breaks free in line breaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/free-verse-is-chained-in-sentence-to-sentence-links-and-breaks-free/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [“A midst deceit I found the truth; there in the rough I found a diamond. And from the moment we met, I think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donato-dicristino/a-midst-deceit-i-found-the-truth-there-in-the-rough-i-found-a-diamond/) Donato DiCristino > [“If You Knew What if you knew you'd be the last to touch someone? If you were taking tickets, for example, at the theater,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/if-you-knew-what-if-you-knew-you-d-be-the-last-to-touch-someone-if/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [“vers libre," (free verse) or nine-tenths of it, is not a new metre any more than sleeping in a ditch is a new school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/vers-libre-free-verse-or-nine-tenths-of-it-is-not-a-new-metre-any/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Dead Butterfly By Ellen Bass For months my daughter carried a dead monarch in a quart mason jar. To and from school in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/dead-butterfly-by-ellen-bass-for-months-my-daughter-carried-a-dead/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [“If there has been one overriding change in poetic practice, it is that under the influence of free verse the poets have made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-langford/if-there-has-been-one-overriding-change-in-poetic-practice-it-is-that/) Martin Langford > [“Sanity is a sonnet with a strict meter and rhyme scheme-and my mind is free verse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-schindler/sanity-is-a-sonnet-with-a-strict-meter-and-rhyme-scheme-and-my-mind/) [Holly Schindler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-schindler/) > [“In the poetry of arrival, the garage door is free verse; the front door can be anything from a rhyming couplet to a sonnet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akiko-busch/in-the-poetry-of-arrival-the-garage-door-is-free-verse-the-front-door/) Akiko Busch > [“in the end it is words poetry. sunsets someone’s deep blue silk voice. mountain scents. someone’s smile. eyes. that we have no defenses against.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanober-khan/in-the-end-it-is-words-poetry-sunsets-someone-s-deep-blue-silk-voice/) [Sanober Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanober-khan/) > [Modernism in other arts brought extreme difficulty. In poetry, the characteristic difficulty imported under the name of modernism was obscurity. But obscurity could just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/modernism-in-other-arts-brought-extreme-difficulty-in-poetry-the/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Free verse'? You may as well call sleeping in a ditch 'free architecture'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/free-verse-you-may-as-well-call-sleeping-in-a-ditch-free-architecture/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [If a poem is not memorable, there's probably something wrong. One of the problems of free verse is that much of the free verse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-morgan/if-a-poem-is-not-memorable-there-s-probably-something-wrong-one-of/) [Robert Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-morgan/) [Browse all 57 Free verse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-verse/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Teenagers are free verse walking around on two legs.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dorothy Allison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/teenagers-are-free-verse-walking-around-on-two-legs/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Free verse" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/teenagers-are-free-verse-walking-around-on-two-legs/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/dorothy-allison-2041_free-verse_teenagers-are-free-verse-walking-around_211778.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/dorothy-allison-2041_free-verse_teenagers-are-free-verse-walking-around_211778.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/dorothy-allison-2041_free-verse_teenagers-are-free-verse-walking-around_211778.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Teenagers are free verse walking around on two legs.” — Dorothy Allison", "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": "Dorothy Allison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Teenagers are free verse walking around...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/teenagers-are-free-verse-walking-around-on-two-legs/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/teenagers-are-free-verse-walking-around-on-two-legs/#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 } } ] } ```