--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Good poems ask us to have complex minds…" description: "\"Good poems ask us to have complex minds and hearts. Even simple-of-surface poems want that. Perhaps those are the ones that want it most of all, since ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bf/jane-hirshfield-2649_asks_good-poems-ask-us-to-have-complex-minds_765397.jpg" --- # Good poems ask us to have complex minds and hearts. Even… ![“Good poems ask us to have complex minds and hearts. Even simple-of-surface poems want that. Perhaps those are the ones that want it most of all, since that's where they do their work: in the unspoken complexities, understood off the page.” quote by Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bf/jane-hirshfield-2649_asks_good-poems-ask-us-to-have-complex-minds_765397.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bf/jane-hirshfield-2649_asks_good-poems-ask-us-to-have-complex-minds_765397.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bf/jane-hirshfield-2649_asks_good-poems-ask-us-to-have-complex-minds_765397.jpg) > “Good poems ask us to have complex minds and hearts. Even simple-of-surface poems want that. Perhaps those are the ones that want it most of all, since that's where they do their work: in the unspoken complexities, understood off the page.” [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry that challenges readers to engage deeply, revealing hidden layers beyond surface meaning. **In simple terms:** Complex poems demand thoughtful, emotional engagement. Key Takeaway Seek depth, not just surface beauty. Themes art complexity interpretation mindfulness Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - literary analysis - creative writing - education - personal reflection Key Concepts aesthetic theory cognitive engagement Questions to Reflect On - How does complexity enrich your experience? - What barriers prevent you from engaging deeply? A Different Perspective Some may find deep poems inaccessible or overly abstract. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Complexity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexity/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart and mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-and-mind/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [Existence itself is nothing if not an amazement. Good poems restore amazement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/existence-itself-is-nothing-if-not-an-amazement-good-poems-restore/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [I started out wanting to write great poems, then wanting to discover true poems. Now, I want to be the poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/i-started-out-wanting-to-write-great-poems-then-wanting-to-discover/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [“This must be what feelings are. This is why people write poems! I get it now. I get it, and I want more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/this-must-be-what-feelings-are-this-is-why-people-write-poems-i-get/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [“(W)hy is poetry wholly an elderly taste? When I was twenty I could not for the life of me read Shakespeare for pleasure; now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/w-hy-is-poetry-wholly-an-elderly-taste-when-i-was-twenty-i-could-not/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Decide for yourself what kind of works you want to create... facts, essays, poems - do you want to speak or to sing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-haas/decide-for-yourself-what-kind-of-works-you-want-to-create-facts/) [Ernst Haas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-haas/) > [ “I’d say that most of these \[poems in Jason Mashak's book SALTY AS A LIP\] are just straightforward enough, but not entirely explainable or… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sage-cohen/i-d-say-that-most-of-these-poems-in-jason-mashak-s-book-salty-as-a/) Sage Cohen > [“I didn’t even know my face could do this. It’s like there were hidden zippers in my cheeks. Jesus. This must be what feelings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/i-didn-t-even-know-my-face-could-do-this-it-s-like-there-were-hidden/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [“As for all your latest Mayan discoveries and poems, I want to hear every word of it if you want to transmit it, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/as-for-all-your-latest-mayan-discoveries-and-poems-i-want-to-hear/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“Lying in bed, my body and soul bruised and tired, I realize that the Officials are right. Once you want something, everything changes. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/lying-in-bed-my-body-and-soul-bruised-and-tired-i-realize-that-the/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“Now listen to me, please: On a winter day, when you were a lycée student, it was snowing, and you were lost in thought.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/now-listen-to-me-please-on-a-winter-day-when-you-were-a-lyc-e-student/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [To write good poems is the secret of brevity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/to-write-good-poems-is-the-secret-of-brevity/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [Well, the great thing for me about poetry is that in good poems the dislocation of words, that is to say, the distance between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/well-the-great-thing-for-me-about-poetry-is-that-in-good-poems-the/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) > [Good acts are like good poems. One may easily get their drift, but they are not rationally understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/good-acts-are-like-good-poems-one-may-easily-get-their-drift-but-they/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Poverty is very good in poems but very bad in the house; very good in maxims and sermons but very bad in practical life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/poverty-is-very-good-in-poems-but-very-bad-in-the-house-very-good-in/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [A good poem is a tautology. It expands one word by adding a number which clarify it, thus making a new word which has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alasdair-gray/a-good-poem-is-a-tautology-it-expands-one-word-by-adding-a-number/) [Alasdair Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alasdair-gray/) ## More by Jane Hirshfield > [I don't have a cell phone (though for years I've kept saying, "soon").](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-don-t-have-a-cell-phone-though-for-years-i-ve-kept-saying-soon/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [I once was asked to contribute to a mushroom poem anthology. I didn't have anything, and so instead ended up writing the introduction. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-once-was-asked-to-contribute-to-a-mushroom-poem-anthology-i-didn-t/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Everything has two endings- a horse, a piece of string, a phone call. Before a life, air. And after. As silence is not silence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/everything-has-two-endings-a-horse-a-piece-of-string-a-phone-call/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [A certain amount of housekeeping also goes on in my poems. I wash doorknobs, do dishes, mop floors, patch carpets, cook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/a-certain-amount-of-housekeeping-also-goes-on-in-my-poems-i-wash/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Self carries grief as a pack mule carries the side bags, being careful between the trees to leave extra room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/self-carries-grief-as-a-pack-mule-carries-the-side-bags-being-careful/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [My job as a human being as well as a writer is to feel as thoroughly as possible the experience that I am part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/my-job-as-a-human-being-as-well-as-a-writer-is-to-feel-as-thoroughly/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [I want to preserve a certain unknowing about my own poems - perhaps because unknowing is in itself a useful poetic thirst. To move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-want-to-preserve-a-certain-unknowing-about-my-own-poems-perhaps/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Habit, laziness, and fear conspire to keep us comfortably within the familiar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/habit-laziness-and-fear-conspire-to-keep-us-comfortably-within-the/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [In order to gain anything, you must first lose everything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/in-order-to-gain-anything-you-must-first-lose-everything/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [The same words come from each mouth differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/the-same-words-come-from-each-mouth-differently/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Metaphors think with the imagination and the senses. The hot chili peppers in them explode in the mouth and the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/metaphors-think-with-the-imagination-and-the-senses-the-hot-chili/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Your fate is to be yourself, both punishment and crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/your-fate-is-to-be-yourself-both-punishment-and-crime/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Near even a candle, the visible heat. So it is with a person in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/near-even-a-candle-the-visible-heat-so-it-is-with-a-person-in-love/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [At some point I realized that you don't get a full human life if you try to cut off one end of it, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/at-some-point-i-realized-that-you-don-t-get-a-full-human-life-if-you/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Immensity is always there, but we so often become numb to it, or deceive ourselves into thinking our own lives and selves are what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/immensity-is-always-there-but-we-so-often-become-numb-to-it-or/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) [Explore all 156 Jane Hirshfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) ## More Asks quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. 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It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-fundamental-question-we-can-ever-ask-ourselves-is-whether-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I don't know how to say it exactly. Only...I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?' he asks. 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