--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the lover goes, the vow though…" description: "\"“When the lover goes, the vow though broken remains, that trace of eternity love brings down among us stays, to give dignity to the suffering and to in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/galway-kinnell-14406_eternity_when-the-lover-goes-the-vow-though-broke_1296035.jpg" --- # When the lover goes, the vow though broken remains, that… ![“When the lover goes, the vow though broken remains, that trace of eternity love brings down among us stays, to give dignity to the suffering and to intensify it.” quote by Galway Kinnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/galway-kinnell-14406_eternity_when-the-lover-goes-the-vow-though-broke_1296035.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/galway-kinnell-14406_eternity_when-the-lover-goes-the-vow-though-broke_1296035.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/galway-kinnell-14406_eternity_when-the-lover-goes-the-vow-though-broke_1296035.jpg) > ““When the lover goes, the vow though broken remains, that trace of eternity love brings down among us stays, to give dignity to the suffering and to intensify it.”” [Galway Kinnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galway-kinnell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even when a lover departs, the promise endures, offering dignity to suffering and deepening its meaning. **In simple terms:** Broken vows still hold lasting dignity. Key Takeaway Find meaning in enduring love despite loss. Themes loss promise eternity Mood reflective somber Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - grief counseling - relationship healing - personal reflection Key Concepts philosophical spiritual Questions to Reflect On - What dignity can you find in your suffering? - How do broken vows shape your future? A Different Perspective Enduring promises may idealize pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dignity Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dignity-suffering-1884509/) [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Eternity Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity-love-792916/) [Goes Vow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goes-vow-4239538/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Vow Broken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vow-broken-4239537/) ## Related quotes > [There is dignity in suffering; nobility in pain; but failure is a salted wound, that burns and burns again!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/there-is-dignity-in-suffering-nobility-in-pain-but-failure-is-a/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“Nothing more vulgar than a vow broken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/nothing-more-vulgar-than-a-vow-broken/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There is a world above, Where parting is unknown; A whole eternity of love, Form'd for the good alone; And faith beholds the dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-montgomery/there-is-a-world-above-where-parting-is-unknown-a-whole-eternity-of/) [James Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-montgomery/) > [“It seems to me that I have always wanted to say the same thing in my books: that life is one, that mystery is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nathan/it-seems-to-me-that-i-have-always-wanted-to-say-the-same-thing-in-my/) [Robert Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nathan/) > [“I would give up all the summers of eternity for you. 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If you are alive, the opportunity is there – even to the last breath.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-nothing-but-an-opportunity-for-love-to-blossom-if-you-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We may have our ups, we may have our downs...but never doubt this...YOU ARE MY HEART, MY SOUL & MY ETERNITY!! I love you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/we-may-have-our-ups-we-may-have-our-downs-but-never-doubt-this-you/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) ## More by Galway Kinnell > [Turn on the dream you lived through the unwavering gaze. It is as you thought: the living burn. In the floating days may you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galway-kinnell/turn-on-the-dream-you-lived-through-the-unwavering-gaze-it-is-as-you/) [Galway Kinnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galway-kinnell/) > [“The wages of dying are love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galway-kinnell/the-wages-of-dying-are-love/) [Galway Kinnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galway-kinnell/) > [Is there a mechanism of death, that so mutilates existence no one, gets over it not even the dead?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galway-kinnell/is-there-a-mechanism-of-death-that-so-mutilates-existence-no-one-gets/) [Galway Kinnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galway-kinnell/) > [I start off but I don't know where I'm going; I try this avenue and that avenue, that turns out to be a dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galway-kinnell/i-start-off-but-i-don-t-know-where-i-m-going-i-try-this-avenue-and/) [Galway Kinnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galway-kinnell/) > [“The Correspondence-School Instructor Says Goodbye to His Poetry Students Goodbye, lady in Bangor, who sent me snapshots of yourself, after definitely hinting you were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galway-kinnell/the-correspondence-school-instructor-says-goodbye-to-his-poetry/) [Galway Kinnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galway-kinnell/) > [the rest of my days I spend wandering: wondering what, anyway, was that sticky infusion, that rank flavor of blood, that poetry, by which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galway-kinnell/the-rest-of-my-days-i-spend-wandering-wondering-what-anyway-was-that/) [Galway Kinnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galway-kinnell/) > [I love to go out in late September among the fat, overripe, icy, black blackberries to eat blackberries for breakfast, the stalks very prickly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galway-kinnell/i-love-to-go-out-in-late-september-among-the-fat-overripe-icy-black/) [Galway Kinnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galway-kinnell/) > [“Bending over her bed, I saw the smile I must have seen when gaping up from the crib. Knowing death will come, sensing its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galway-kinnell/bending-over-her-bed-i-saw-the-smile-i-must-have-seen-when-gaping-up/) [Galway Kinnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galway-kinnell/) > [“When the man touches through to the exact center of the woman, he lies motionless, in equilibrium, in absolute desire, at the threshold of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galway-kinnell/when-the-man-touches-through-to-the-exact-center-of-the-woman-he-lies/) [Galway Kinnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galway-kinnell/) > [“This happened to your father and to you, Galway-sick to stay, longing to come up against the ends of the earth, and climb over.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galway-kinnell/this-happened-to-your-father-and-to-you-galway-sick-to-stay-longing/) [Galway Kinnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galway-kinnell/) > [“Wait Wait, for now. Distrust everything, if you have to. But trust the hours. Haven't they carried you everywhere, up to now? Personal events…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galway-kinnell/wait-wait-for-now-distrust-everything-if-you-have-to-but-trust-the/) [Galway Kinnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galway-kinnell/) > [Prose is walking; poetry is flying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galway-kinnell/prose-is-walking-poetry-is-flying/) [Galway Kinnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galway-kinnell/) > [Never mind. The self is the least of it. Let our scars fall in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galway-kinnell/never-mind-the-self-is-the-least-of-it-let-our-scars-fall-in-love/) [Galway Kinnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galway-kinnell/) > [That's the way it is with poetry: When it is incomprehensible it seems profound, and when you understand it, it is only ridiculous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galway-kinnell/that-s-the-way-it-is-with-poetry-when-it-is-incomprehensible-it-seems/) [Galway Kinnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galway-kinnell/) > [Little sleep's-head sprouting hair in the moonlight, when I come back we will go out together, we will walk out together among, the ten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galway-kinnell/little-sleep-s-head-sprouting-hair-in-the-moonlight-when-i-come-back/) [Galway Kinnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galway-kinnell/) [Explore all 46 Galway Kinnell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galway-kinnell/) ## More Eternity quotes > [“I believe in forever, and that’s what you and I are. 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And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [If I have a system it is limited to a recognition of what Kierkegaard called 'the infinite qualitative distinction' between time and eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/if-i-have-a-system-it-is-limited-to-a-recognition-of-what-kierkegaard/) [Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/) > [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I think we all have a core that's ecstatic, that knows and that looks up in wonder. We all know that there are marvelous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-barks/i-think-we-all-have-a-core-that-s-ecstatic-that-knows-and-that-looks/) [Coleman Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-barks/) > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Heaven? Floating about with everyone you ever knew for eternity? 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