--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And what are you that, missing you, I…" description: "\"And what are you that, missing you, I should be kept awake As many nights as there are days With weeping for your sake? And what are you that, missing ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/edna-st-vincent-millay-1291_awake_and-what-are-you-that-missing-you-i-shou_1718447.jpg" --- # And what are you that, missing you, I should be kept awake… ![“And what are you that, missing you, I should be kept awake As many nights as there are days With weeping for your sake? And what are you that, missing you, As many days as crawl I should be listening to the wind And looking at the wall? I know a man that’s a braver man And twenty men as kind, And…” quote by Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/edna-st-vincent-millay-1291_awake_and-what-are-you-that-missing-you-i-shou_1718447.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/edna-st-vincent-millay-1291_awake_and-what-are-you-that-missing-you-i-shou_1718447.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/edna-st-vincent-millay-1291_awake_and-what-are-you-that-missing-you-i-shou_1718447.jpg) > “And what are you that, missing you, I should be kept awake As many nights as there are days With weeping for your sake? And what are you that, missing you, As many days as crawl I should be listening to the wind And looking at the wall? I know a man that’s a braver man And twenty men as kind, And what are you, that you should be The one man in my mind? Yet women’s ways are witless ways, As any sage will tell,— And what am I, that I should love So wisely and so well?” [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poem explores longing, love, and the complexities of desire, questioning identity and societal expectations. **In simple terms:** A yearning for love and self‑understanding amidst societal constraints. Key Takeaway Seek authentic connection and self‑acceptance. Themes love identity societal expectations Mood reflective melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - romantic relationships - personal growth - artistic expression - self‑reflection Key Concepts existential longing gender roles poetic introspection Questions to Reflect On - What does love mean to you beyond societal roles? - How can you honor your desires while respecting others? A Different Perspective May romanticize struggle without offering solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Sage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sage/) [Twenties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twenties/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) [Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wind/) ## Related quotes > [“Missing her kept him awake more than coffee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/missing-her-kept-him-awake-more-than-coffee/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Start trying to work out who deserves what, and before long you'll spend the rest of your days weeping for each and every person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/start-trying-to-work-out-who-deserves-what-and-before-long-you-ll/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [“You and I, we don't love too wisely, but too well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edie-kerouac-parker/you-and-i-we-don-t-love-too-wisely-but-too-well/) Edie Kerouac-Parker > [When once the mind has raised itself to grasp and to delight in excellence, those who love most will be found to love most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-turner-palgrave/when-once-the-mind-has-raised-itself-to-grasp-and-to-delight-in/) Francis Turner Palgrave > [Love is like a phone call in the night, first there's the ring and then you wake up. Make sure you choose your love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naquitta-faith/love-is-like-a-phone-call-in-the-night-first-there-s-the-ring-and/) [Naquitta Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naquitta-faith/) > [“Would you not marry even for love?" "Love does not seem to bring anyone much happiness as far as I have observed. So I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-shinn/would-you-not-marry-even-for-love-love-does-not-seem-to-bring-anyone/) [Sharon Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-shinn/) > [We have come to see that just as the child must learn to love wisely, so he must learn to hate expeditiously, to turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-a-menninger/we-have-come-to-see-that-just-as-the-child-must-learn-to-love-wisely/) [Karl A. Menninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-a-menninger/) > [“Love well, if not wisely.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/love-well-if-not-wisely/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) > [Why is it so difficult to love wisely, so easy to love too well?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-elizabeth-braddon/why-is-it-so-difficult-to-love-wisely-so-easy-to-love-too-well/) [Mary Elizabeth Braddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-elizabeth-braddon/) > [It is best to love wisely, no doubt; but to love foolishly is better than not to be able to love at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/it-is-best-to-love-wisely-no-doubt-but-to-love-foolishly-is-better/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [“There’s only one woman in this town that has kept me awake at night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sibylla-matilde/there-s-only-one-woman-in-this-town-that-has-kept-me-awake-at-night/) [Sibylla Matilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sibylla-matilde/) > [If anything kept me awake at night it would be worrying that there wouldn't be enough time to have a nap the next day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-lycett/if-anything-kept-me-awake-at-night-it-would-be-worrying-that-there/) [Joe Lycett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-lycett/) > [“Sarah had stayed over with me at the flat the night before, and I’d kept her awake until past midnight, teaching her how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-jones/sarah-had-stayed-over-with-me-at-the-flat-the-night-before-and-i-d/) [Lesley Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-jones/) > [Every roommate kept awake by every sigh and scream we make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/three-days-grace/every-roommate-kept-awake-by-every-sigh-and-scream-we-make/) [Three Days Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/three-days-grace/) > [I worked like a crazyman. I worked day and night, often days and nights at a time - without sleep. Gallons of coffee kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-olitski/i-worked-like-a-crazyman-i-worked-day-and-night-often-days-and-nights/) [Jules Olitski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-olitski/) ## More by Edna St. Vincent Millay > [Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/into-the-darkness-they-go-the-wise-and-the-lovely/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [There are a hundred places where I fear To go, --so with his memory they brim! And entering with relief some quiet place Where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/there-are-a-hundred-places-where-i-fear-to-go-so-with-his-memory-they/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [The first rose on my rose-tree Budded, bloomed, and shattered, During sad days when to me Nothing mattered. 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Poems are perfect; picketing, sometimes, is better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/some-of-us-have-been-thinking-and-talking-too-long-without-doing/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [“But, sure, the sky is big, I said; Miles and miles above my head; So here upon my back I'll lie And look my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/but-sure-the-sky-is-big-i-said-miles-and-miles-above-my-head-so-here/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [pity me that the heart is slow to learn what the swift mind beholds at every turn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/pity-me-that-the-heart-is-slow-to-learn-what-the-swift-mind-beholds/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [Youth, have no pity; leave no farthing here For age to invest in compromise and fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/youth-have-no-pity-leave-no-farthing-here-for-age-to-invest-in/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [My god is all gods in one. When I see a beautiful sunset, I worship the god of Nature; when I see a hidden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/my-god-is-all-gods-in-one-when-i-see-a-beautiful-sunset-i-worship-the/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [“Tea was sucha comfort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/tea-was-sucha-comfort/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) [Explore all 260 Edna St. Vincent Millay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) ## More Awake quotes > [“I am awake. I know what you took. I am coming for you. Vengeance is mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-burks/i-am-awake-i-know-what-you-took-i-am-coming-for-you-vengeance-is-mine/) [Robin Burks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-burks/) > [Reagan was sitting up at Cath's desk when Cath woke up. "Are you awake?" "Have you been watching me sleep?" "Yes, Bella. 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