--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I see poetry as a path toward new…" description: "\"I see poetry as a path toward new understanding and transformation, and so I've looked at specific poems I love, and at poetry's gestures in the broade..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab5/jane-hirshfield-2649_change_i-see-poetry-as-a-path-toward-new-unders_2198699.jpg" --- # I see poetry as a path toward new understanding and… ![“I see poetry as a path toward new understanding and transformation, and so I've looked at specific poems I love, and at poetry's gestures in the broadest sense, in an effort to feel and learn what they offer from the inside.” quote by Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab5/jane-hirshfield-2649_change_i-see-poetry-as-a-path-toward-new-unders_2198699.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab5/jane-hirshfield-2649_change_i-see-poetry-as-a-path-toward-new-unders_2198699.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab5/jane-hirshfield-2649_change_i-see-poetry-as-a-path-toward-new-unders_2198699.jpg) > “I see poetry as a path toward new understanding and transformation, and so I've looked at specific poems I love, and at poetry's gestures in the broadest sense, in an effort to feel and learn what they offer from the inside.” [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 serves as a conduit for personal growth and insight, inviting deep emotional and intellectual engagement. **In simple terms:** Poetry helps us grow and understand. Key Takeaway Use poetry to explore inner thoughts. Themes growth reflection creativity Mood inspirational introspective Type literary educational When to use this quote - journaling - creative writing workshops - mindful reading sessions Key Concepts emotional intelligence transformative reading self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - What poem has changed your perspective? - How can poetry influence daily life? A Different Perspective Interpretation can be highly subjective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Gestures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gestures/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-poetry/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Transformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transformation/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [The ability to name poetry's gestures and rhetorics isn't required to write or read them, any more than a painter needs to know the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/the-ability-to-name-poetry-s-gestures-and-rhetorics-isn-t-required-to/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [When your learning is extensive and profound, always feel that the more you learn, the less you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-your-learning-is-extensive-and-profound-always-feel-that-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I personally feel I still have so much to learn as a writer; each novel is better than the one before, just because I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dee/i-personally-feel-i-still-have-so-much-to-learn-as-a-writer-each/) [Jonathan Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dee/) > [I feel there's so much still to learn about acting. 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Feel is something that you find as a musician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/feel-is-not-something-that-you-learn-in-a-book-feel-is-something-that/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [We are able to feel and learn very quickly through music, through art, through poetry some spiritual things that we would otherwise learn very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyd-k-packer/we-are-able-to-feel-and-learn-very-quickly-through-music-through-art/) [Boyd K. 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They learn that discouragement is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-castillo/more-importantly-they-learn-that-they-are-the-one-in-control-of-their/) [Brooke Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-castillo/) > [To learn and think; to think and live; to live and learn: this always, with new insight, new understanding, and new love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/to-learn-and-think-to-think-and-live-to-live-and-learn-this-always/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [... the ecological problem of our times demands a radical reevaluation of how we see the entire world; it demands a different interpretation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ecumenical-patriarch-bartholomew-i-of-constantinople/the-ecological-problem-of-our-times-demands-a-radical-reevaluation-of/) [Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ecumenical-patriarch-bartholomew-i-of-constantinople/) > [Fearlessness comes with the birth of this new understanding: The only reason life changes as it does is to reveal the secret Goodness underlying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-finley/fearlessness-comes-with-the-birth-of-this-new-understanding-the-only/) [Guy Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-finley/) > [We are either going to dissolve as a human race or we are going to break through into a new understanding of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-riley/we-are-either-going-to-dissolve-as-a-human-race-or-we-are-going-to/) [Terry Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-riley/) ## 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 Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I see poetry as a path toward new understanding and transformation, and so I've looked at specific poems I love, and at poetry's gestures in the broadest sense, in an effort to feel and learn what they offer from the inside.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Hirshfield" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-see-poetry-as-a-path-toward-new-understanding-and-transformation/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Change" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-see-poetry-as-a-path-toward-new-understanding-and-transformation/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab5/jane-hirshfield-2649_change_i-see-poetry-as-a-path-toward-new-unders_2198699.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab5/jane-hirshfield-2649_change_i-see-poetry-as-a-path-toward-new-unders_2198699.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab5/jane-hirshfield-2649_change_i-see-poetry-as-a-path-toward-new-unders_2198699.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I see poetry as a path toward new understanding and transformation, and so I've looked at specific poems I…” — Jane Hirshfield", "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": "Jane Hirshfield", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I see poetry as a path...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-see-poetry-as-a-path-toward-new-understanding-and-transformation/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-see-poetry-as-a-path-toward-new-understanding-and-transformation/#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 } } ] } ```