--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not for a moment, beautiful aged Walt…" description: "\"Not for a moment, beautiful aged Walt Whitman, have I failed to see your beard full of butterflies.\" — Federico Garcia Lorca" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e30/federico-garc-a-lorca-2086_beard_not-for-a-moment-beautiful-aged-walt-whi_2780280.png" --- # Not for a moment, beautiful aged Walt Whitman, have I… ![“Not for a moment, beautiful aged Walt Whitman, have I failed to see your beard full of butterflies.” quote by Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e30/federico-garc-a-lorca-2086_beard_not-for-a-moment-beautiful-aged-walt-whi_2780280.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e30/federico-garc-a-lorca-2086_beard_not-for-a-moment-beautiful-aged-walt-whi_2780280.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e30/federico-garc-a-lorca-2086_beard_not-for-a-moment-beautiful-aged-walt-whi_2780280.png) > “Not for a moment, beautiful aged Walt Whitman, have I failed to see your beard full of butterflies.” [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poet admires Walt Whitman, noting a vivid, imaginative image of his beard filled with butterflies, symbolizing beauty and transformation. **In simple terms:** Admiring Whitman's poetic imagery. Key Takeaway Embrace creative, transformative visions. Themes literature imagery beauty transformation Mood inspired contemplative Type poetry philosophical When to use this quote - writing - artistic inspiration - personal reflection Key Concepts symbolism nature metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What does the butterfly‑beard image evoke for you? - How can you find beauty in unexpected places? A Different Perspective Interpretations may vary; metaphor may be over‑romanticized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Butterflies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butterflies/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Documentary is, therefore, an approach, which makes use of the artistic faculties to give vivification to fact - to use Walt Whitman's definition of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beaumont-newhall/documentary-is-therefore-an-approach-which-makes-use-of-the-artistic/) [Beaumont Newhall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beaumont-newhall/) > [It is no discredit to Walt Whitman that he wrote Leaves of Grass, only that he did not burn it afterwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wentworth-higginson/it-is-no-discredit-to-walt-whitman-that-he-wrote-leaves-of-grass-only/) [Thomas Wentworth Higginson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wentworth-higginson/) > [Walt Whitman, he who laid end to end words never seen in each other's company before outside of a dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/walt-whitman-he-who-laid-end-to-end-words-never-seen-in-each-other-s/) [David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/) > [I gotta say - if I clicked on a movie interview, and the first part was all about Walt Whitman, I'd love that article.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-mckay/i-gotta-say-if-i-clicked-on-a-movie-interview-and-the-first-part-was/) [Adam McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-mckay/) > [If you're going to get up to Walt Whitman and Robert Frost and Langston Hughes and Sylvia Plath you've got to figure out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/if-you-re-going-to-get-up-to-walt-whitman-and-robert-frost-and/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [I think there were two great gay Americans obviously, and that was Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/i-think-there-were-two-great-gay-americans-obviously-and-that-was/) [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) > [Certainly I'm participating in an already established and awesome tradition, but it's a tradition that sort of shoots up and through the mainstream in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/certainly-i-m-participating-in-an-already-established-and-awesome/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [In his very rejection of art Walt Whitman is an artist. He tried to produce a certain effect by certain means and he succeeded…He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/in-his-very-rejection-of-art-walt-whitman-is-an-artist-he-tried-to/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Walt Whitman, a kosmos, of Manhattan the son, Turbulent, fleshy, sensual, eating, drinking and breeding, No sentimentalist, no stander above men and women or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/walt-whitman-a-kosmos-of-manhattan-the-son-turbulent-fleshy-sensual/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Our culture is what we did together. What did Walt Whitman represent for all of us? What was his message to us? That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/our-culture-is-what-we-did-together-what-did-walt-whitman-represent/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [When I was young I once found a book in a Dutch translation, 'The leaves of Grass'. It was the first time a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-appel/when-i-was-young-i-once-found-a-book-in-a-dutch-translation-the/) [Karel Appel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-appel/) > [The English tourist in American literature wants above all things something different from what he has at home. For this reason the one American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-english-tourist-in-american-literature-wants-above-all-things/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Art is a luxury. It's not necessary for you to - you can work your job and you can make some money and never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/art-is-a-luxury-it-s-not-necessary-for-you-to-you-can-work-your-job/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [I always knew in my heart Walt Whitman's mind to be more like my own than any other man's living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-manley-hopkins/i-always-knew-in-my-heart-walt-whitman-s-mind-to-be-more-like-my-own/) [Gerard Manley Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-manley-hopkins/) > [Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass" is still in print. They're debating right now over Mark Twain. He's still available. Winslow Homer can still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/walt-whitman-s-leaves-of-grass-is-still-in-print-they-re-debating/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) ## More by Federico Garcia Lorca > [“...My voice is stained with bloody light, and I see irises dry up at its touch; in my song I wear the finery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/my-voice-is-stained-with-bloody-light-and-i-see-irises-dry-up-at-its/) [Federico García Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [A dead man in Spain is more alive than a dead man anywhere in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/a-dead-man-in-spain-is-more-alive-than-a-dead-man-anywhere-in-the/) [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [“Here I want to see those men of hard voice. Those that break horses and dominate rivers; those men of sonorous skeleton who sing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/here-i-want-to-see-those-men-of-hard-voice-those-that-break-horses/) [Federico García Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [The one thing life has taught me is that most people spend their lives bottled up inside their houses doing the things they hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/the-one-thing-life-has-taught-me-is-that-most-people-spend-their/) [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [“Madrigals" 1 Like concentric ripples over the water, so in my heart your words. Like a bird that strikes against the wind, so on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/madrigals-1-like-concentric-ripples-over-the-water-so-in-my-heart/) [Federico García Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [At first glance, the rhythm may be confused with gaiety, but when you look more closely at the mechanism of social life and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/at-first-glance-the-rhythm-may-be-confused-with-gaiety-but-when-you/) [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [I'm hurt, hurt and humiliated beyond endurance, seeing the wheat ripening, the fountains never ceasing to give water, the sheep bearing hundreds oflambs, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/i-m-hurt-hurt-and-humiliated-beyond-endurance-seeing-the-wheat/) [Federico García Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [To burn with desire and keep quiet about it is the greatest punishment we can bring on ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/to-burn-with-desire-and-keep-quiet-about-it-is-the-greatest/) [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [“La poesía no quiere adeptos, quiere amantes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/la-poes-a-no-quiere-adeptos-quiere-amantes/) [Federico García Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [Oh honey, there's nothing new on this earth when it comes to what men and women do in the dark. First love is when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/oh-honey-there-s-nothing-new-on-this-earth-when-it-comes-to-what-men/) [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [The terrible, cold, cruel part is Wall Street. Rivers of gold flow there from all over the earth, and death comes with it. There,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/the-terrible-cold-cruel-part-is-wall-street-rivers-of-gold-flow-there/) [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [I was lucky enough to see with my own eyes the recent stock-market crash, where they lost several million dollars, a rabble of dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/i-was-lucky-enough-to-see-with-my-own-eyes-the-recent-stock-market/) [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [Just as the light and weightless vegetation of saltpeter floats over the old walls of houses as soon as the owner gets careless, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/just-as-the-light-and-weightless-vegetation-of-saltpeter-floats-over/) [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [Hour of Stars (1920) The round silence of night, one note on the stave of the infinite. Ripe with lost poems, I step naked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/hour-of-stars-1920-the-round-silence-of-night-one-note-on-the-stave/) [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [What you wouldn't have suspected lives & trembles in the air. Those treasures of the day you keep just out of reach. These come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/what-you-wouldn-t-have-suspected-lives-trembles-in-the-air-those/) [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) [Explore all 155 Federico Garcia Lorca quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) ## More Beard quotes > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“Nay! Faith, let me not play a woman! I have a beard coming!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/nay-faith-let-me-not-play-a-woman-i-have-a-beard-coming/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The barman sidled toward them out of a back room. He was a grump-looking old man with a great deal of a long gray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-barman-sidled-toward-them-out-of-a-back-room-he-was-a-grump/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was born with a beard. We're quite hairy down in Latin America. We don't have to use sponges when we wash dishes. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devendra-banhart/i-was-born-with-a-beard-we-re-quite-hairy-down-in-latin-america-we/) [Devendra Banhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devendra-banhart/) > [“beard framing a face that had started to show his age, weathered and lined from years”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-allibone/beard-framing-a-face-that-had-started-to-show-his-age-weathered-and/) Richard Allibone > [If I can play, and change the mind of one person about being a Muslim player and having a beard, then I'll feel as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moeen-ali/if-i-can-play-and-change-the-mind-of-one-person-about-being-a-muslim/) [Moeen Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moeen-ali/) > [“Pride is like a beard. It is just keeps growing; the solution?- Shave it every day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ong/pride-is-like-a-beard-it-is-just-keeps-growing-the-solution-shave-it/) George Ong > [“I have no idea why this is. I’m sure somebody with a beard and too much time on their hands would say it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-spalding/i-have-no-idea-why-this-is-i-m-sure-somebody-with-a-beard-and-too/) [Nick Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-spalding/) > [They were bullyin' him, Hermione, 'cause he's so small!" said Hagrid. "Small?" said Hermione. "Small?" "Hermione, I couldn't leave him," said Hagrid, tears now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-were-bullyin-him-hermione-cause-he-s-so-small-said-hagrid-small/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Allow me," said the elf, proffering Gimlet's beard to Frito, who was now sneezing uncontrollably.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-harvard-lampoon/allow-me-said-the-elf-proffering-gimlet-s-beard-to-frito-who-was-now/) [The Harvard Lampoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-harvard-lampoon/) > [Never insult a mans beard, you either get thunder or lightning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/si-robertson/never-insult-a-mans-beard-you-either-get-thunder-or-lightning/) [Si Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/si-robertson/) > [If we didn't live venturously, plucking the wild goat by the beard, and trembling over precipices, we should never be depressed, I've no doubt;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/if-we-didn-t-live-venturously-plucking-the-wild-goat-by-the-beard-and/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [If I had to choose between the two ways of approaching the deity, I should prefer the existential relational way, to the abstract philosophical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/if-i-had-to-choose-between-the-two-ways-of-approaching-the-deity-i/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [“Shave that Moses beard and you might have better luck. Women don’t want to kiss carpet, you know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kody-keplinger/shave-that-moses-beard-and-you-might-have-better-luck-women-don-t/) [Kody Keplinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kody-keplinger/) > [If Elmore Leonard met Jim Thompson down a dark alley at midnight they might emerge a week later with thick beards, bloodshot eyes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/if-elmore-leonard-met-jim-thompson-down-a-dark-alley-at-midnight-they/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) Browse all 588 Beard quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Not for a moment, beautiful aged Walt Whitman, have I failed to see your beard full of butterflies.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Federico Garcia Lorca" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/not-for-a-moment-beautiful-aged-walt-whitman-have-i-failed-to-see/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beard" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/not-for-a-moment-beautiful-aged-walt-whitman-have-i-failed-to-see/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e30/federico-garc-a-lorca-2086_beard_not-for-a-moment-beautiful-aged-walt-whi_2780280.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e30/federico-garc-a-lorca-2086_beard_not-for-a-moment-beautiful-aged-walt-whi_2780280.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e30/federico-garc-a-lorca-2086_beard_not-for-a-moment-beautiful-aged-walt-whi_2780280.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Not for a moment, beautiful aged Walt Whitman, have I failed to see your beard full of butterflies.” — Federico Garcia Lorca", "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": "Federico Garcia Lorca", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Not for a moment, beautiful aged...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/not-for-a-moment-beautiful-aged-walt-whitman-have-i-failed-to-see/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/not-for-a-moment-beautiful-aged-walt-whitman-have-i-failed-to-see/#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 } } ] } ```