--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Shall I let in the stranger, Shall I…" description: "\"Shall I let in the stranger, Shall I welcome the sailor, Or stay till the day I die? Hands of the stranger and holds of the ships, Hold you poison or g..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/daf/dylan-thomas-1889_dies_shall-i-let-in-the-stranger-shall-i-welc_1265112.jpg" --- # Shall I let in the stranger, Shall I welcome the sailor… ![“Shall I let in the stranger, Shall I welcome the sailor, Or stay till the day I die? Hands of the stranger and holds of the ships, Hold you poison or grapes?” quote by Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/daf/dylan-thomas-1889_dies_shall-i-let-in-the-stranger-shall-i-welc_1265112.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/daf/dylan-thomas-1889_dies_shall-i-let-in-the-stranger-shall-i-welc_1265112.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/daf/dylan-thomas-1889_dies_shall-i-let-in-the-stranger-shall-i-welc_1265112.jpg) > “Shall I let in the stranger, Shall I welcome the sailor, Or stay till the day I die? Hands of the stranger and holds of the ships, Hold you poison or grapes?” [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) ## 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 weighs the risk of welcoming unknown people or journeys, pondering potential danger or reward. **In simple terms:** Deciding whether to trust strangers or new experiences. Key Takeaway Weigh risks before opening to unknown. Themes trust risk hospitality choice uncertainty Mood contemplative thoughtful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - Travel - new relationships - career changes - social events Key Concepts Existential dilemma Human connection Fear of the unknown Questions to Reflect On - What would you gain by welcoming the stranger? - When have you regretted staying closed? A Different Perspective Fear may prevent growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Poison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poison/) [Sailor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sailor/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) ## Related quotes > [The image of ourselves in the minds of others is the picture of a stranger we shall never see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-image-of-ourselves-in-the-minds-of-others-is-the-picture-of-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don't let a stranger that comes to you leave empty handed without food, water, shelter, or word of encouragement. Whether you believe in God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uzoma-nnadi/don-t-let-a-stranger-that-comes-to-you-leave-empty-handed-without/) [Uzoma Nnadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uzoma-nnadi/) > [“In a recent poll, one in four people said they'd donate a kidney to a complete stranger. Yeah, sure... 90% of people won't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-jacoby/in-a-recent-poll-one-in-four-people-said-they-d-donate-a-kidney-to-a/) Jack Jacoby > [We often talk to ourselves in ways that we would never let a stranger or even a friend talk to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-spence/we-often-talk-to-ourselves-in-ways-that-we-would-never-let-a-stranger/) [John Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-spence/) > [You didn't come this far to let a stranger hold you back from your dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-simmons/you-didn-t-come-this-far-to-let-a-stranger-hold-you-back-from-your/) [Angela Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-simmons/) > [“So you let a stranger touch you and you're not going to let me. --Tommy to Jessica”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-bode/so-you-let-a-stranger-touch-you-and-you-re-not-going-to-let-me-tommy/) [Janet Bode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-bode/) > [I can't save them by myself, oh but God forbid that I just turn my head and walk on by. Don't let me be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-worley/i-can-t-save-them-by-myself-oh-but-god-forbid-that-i-just-turn-my/) [Darryl Worley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-worley/) > [This bread I break was once the oat, This wine upon a foreign tree Plunged in its fruit; Man in the day or wind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/this-bread-i-break-was-once-the-oat-this-wine-upon-a-foreign-tree/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [There is too much sour grapes for my taste in the present American attitude. The time to denounce the bankers was when we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/there-is-too-much-sour-grapes-for-my-taste-in-the-present-american/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Mr. D, wearing his leopard-skin jogging suit and rummaging through the refrigerator. He looked up lazily. "Do you mind?" Where's Chiron!" I shouted. How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/mr-d-wearing-his-leopard-skin-jogging-suit-and-rummaging-through-the/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [My passions are the grapes that I tread out for mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adle/my-passions-are-the-grapes-that-i-tread-out-for-mankind/) Alfred Adle > [The television critic, whatever his pretensions, does not labour in the same vineyard as those he criticizes; his grapes are all sour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-raphael/the-television-critic-whatever-his-pretensions-does-not-labour-in-the/) [Frederic Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-raphael/) > [I could spend a whole day at a spa. I'd get a facial, a scalp rub, massages, then eat some grapes and be good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dule-hill/i-could-spend-a-whole-day-at-a-spa-i-d-get-a-facial-a-scalp-rub/) [Dule Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dule-hill/) > [The grape Hyacinth is the favorite spring flower of my garden - but no! I though a minute ago the Scilla was! and what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-morse-earle/the-grape-hyacinth-is-the-favorite-spring-flower-of-my-garden-but-no/) [Alice Morse Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-morse-earle/) > [Or for the gorgeously bare vampire to give her a sensual massage while feeding her peeled grapes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/or-for-the-gorgeously-bare-vampire-to-give-her-a-sensual-massage/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) ## More by Dylan Thomas > [I liked the taste of beer, its live, white lather, its brass-bright depths, the sudden world through the wet-brown walls of the glass, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-liked-the-taste-of-beer-its-live-white-lather-its-brass-bright/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [There is only one position for an artist anywhere; and that is upright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/there-is-only-one-position-for-an-artist-anywhere-and-that-is-upright/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [“Thousands of miles,' I said. It's Rhosilli, USA. We're going to camp on a bit of rock that wobbles in the winds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/thousands-of-miles-i-said-it-s-rhosilli-usa-we-re-going-to-camp-on-a/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [One Christmas was so much like another, in those years around the sea-town corner now and out of all sound except the distant speaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/one-christmas-was-so-much-like-another-in-those-years-around-the-sea/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [I hold a beast, an angel, and a madman in me, and my enquiry is as to their working, and my problem is their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-hold-a-beast-an-angel-and-a-madman-in-me-and-my-enquiry-is-as-to/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Youth calls to age across the tired years: 'What have you found,' he cries, 'what have you sought?" 'What have you found,' age answers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/youth-calls-to-age-across-the-tired-years-what-have-you-found-he/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Do not go gentle into that goodnight, rage, rage against the dying of the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-goodnight-rage-rage-against-the-dying-of/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [To begin, at the beginning...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/to-begin-at-the-beginning/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [A born writer is born scrofulous; his career is an accident dictated by physical or circumstantial disabilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/a-born-writer-is-born-scrofulous-his-career-is-an-accident-dictated/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Rhianon, he said, hold my hand, Rhianon. She did not hear him, but stood over his bed and fixed him with an unbroken sorrow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/rhianon-he-said-hold-my-hand-rhianon-she-did-not-hear-him-but-stood/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [I know in London a Welsh hairdresser who has striven so vehemently to abolish his accent that he sounds like a man speaking with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-know-in-london-a-welsh-hairdresser-who-has-striven-so-vehemently-to/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Dark is a way and light is a place, Heaven that never was Nor will be ever is always true "Poem on His Birthday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/dark-is-a-way-and-light-is-a-place-heaven-that-never-was-nor-will-be/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [And now, gentlemen, like your manners, I must leave you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/and-now-gentlemen-like-your-manners-i-must-leave-you/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Now behind the eyes and secrets of the dreamers in the streets rocked to sleep by the sea, see the titbits and topsyturvies, bobs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/now-behind-the-eyes-and-secrets-of-the-dreamers-in-the-streets-rocked/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [I believe in New Yorkers. Whether they’ve ever questioned the dream in which they live, I wouldn’t know, because I won’t ever dare ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-believe-in-new-yorkers-whether-they-ve-ever-questioned-the-dream-in/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) [Explore all 201 Dylan Thomas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) ## More Dies 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/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [Don't even think for a moment that you are not going to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzongsar-jamyang-khyentse-rinpoche/don-t-even-think-for-a-moment-that-you-are-not-going-to-die/) [Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzongsar-jamyang-khyentse-rinpoche/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [I wonder: when a Jehovah's Witness dies and goes to Heaven, does God hide behind the door and pretend He's not home?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-celio/i-wonder-when-a-jehovah-s-witness-dies-and-goes-to-heaven-does-god/) [Brian Celio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-celio/) > [Certainly, it is. Love is love, and loss is loss. We all love, and we all die, and everyone suffers the pain of grieving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynsay-sands/certainly-it-is-love-is-love-and-loss-is-loss-we-all-love-and-we-all/) [Lynsay Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynsay-sands/) > [“When he stops giving you butterflies, Love dies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-blanchard/when-he-stops-giving-you-butterflies-love-dies/) Michelle Blanchard > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [I don't want to just die a normal death, I wanna be killed twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/i-don-t-want-to-just-die-a-normal-death-i-wanna-be-killed-twice/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [My father thrives on fear. You know that prayer If I should die before I wake? I had sheets that said that!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/my-father-thrives-on-fear-you-know-that-prayer-if-i-should-die-before/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [This mind is a prison. It cannot find any freedom anywhere. It must die before freedom comes to you. But we have taken the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/this-mind-is-a-prison-it-cannot-find-any-freedom-anywhere-it-must-die/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. Personally, I think I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/an-artist-s-creative-energy-is-ephemeral-as-a-flower-it-blooms-and/) [Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/) > [If you’re going to die on screen, you’ve got to be strong and in good health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-garbo/if-you-re-going-to-die-on-screen-you-ve-got-to-be-strong-and-in-good/) [Greta Garbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-garbo/) Browse all 7,484 Dies quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Shall I let in the stranger, Shall I welcome the sailor, Or stay till the day I die? 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