--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The poem builds in my mind and sits…" description: "\"The poem builds in my mind and sits there, as if in a register, until the poem, or a piece of a longer poem, is finished enough to write down. I can ho..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3c/john-burnside-8167_enough_the-poem-builds-in-my-mind-and-sits-ther_15741.jpg" --- # The poem builds in my mind and sits there, as if in a… ![“The poem builds in my mind and sits there, as if in a register, until the poem, or a piece of a longer poem, is finished enough to write down. I can hold several lines in my head for quite some time, but as soon as they are written down, the register clears, as it were, and I have to work with…” quote by John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3c/john-burnside-8167_enough_the-poem-builds-in-my-mind-and-sits-ther_15741.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3c/john-burnside-8167_enough_the-poem-builds-in-my-mind-and-sits-ther_15741.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3c/john-burnside-8167_enough_the-poem-builds-in-my-mind-and-sits-ther_15741.jpg) > “The poem builds in my mind and sits there, as if in a register, until the poem, or a piece of a longer poem, is finished enough to write down. I can hold several lines in my head for quite some time, but as soon as they are written down, the register clears, as it were, and I have to work with what is on the paper.” [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative ideas linger in mental storage until externalized; writing clears that space, forcing new focus. **In simple terms:** Ideas stay in your mind until you write them, then they disappear. Key Takeaway Externalizing thoughts frees mental bandwidth. Themes creativity memory writing cognition Mood thoughtful analytical Type reflection process description When to use this quote - drafting a poem - brainstorming a project - note‑taking in meetings Key Concepts working memory limits externalization Practical Applications - Write down fleeting ideas promptly - Use a digital capture tool Questions to Reflect On - Do you notice ideas fading after you write them? - How long can you hold complex thoughts without notes? A Different Perspective Some concepts may benefit from incubation rather than immediate transcription. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes you finish the poem, and that last piece clicks in place. Sometimes the poem is finished with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-seidel/sometimes-you-finish-the-poem-and-that-last-piece-clicks-in-place/) [Frederick Seidel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-seidel/) > [Social media's currency is the single photograph. Whereas, every time I look at a photograph, I look at twenty or thirty photographs. I'm looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-franklin/social-media-s-currency-is-the-single-photograph-whereas-every-time-i/) [Stuart Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-franklin/) > [I know the sag of the unfinished poem. And I know the release of the poem that is finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/i-know-the-sag-of-the-unfinished-poem-and-i-know-the-release-of-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [A poem is a finished work of the mind, it is not the work of a finished mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruefle/a-poem-is-a-finished-work-of-the-mind-it-is-not-the-work-of-a/) [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) > [“After ten standard months I was done, acknowledging the ancient aphorism to the effect that no book or poem is ever finished, merely abandoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/after-ten-standard-months-i-was-done-acknowledging-the-ancient/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [A friend came over to the house a few days ago and read one of my poems. He came back today and asked to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brautigan/a-friend-came-over-to-the-house-a-few-days-ago-and-read-one-of-my/) [Richard Brautigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brautigan/) > [No book or poem is ever finished, merely abandoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/no-book-or-poem-is-ever-finished-merely-abandoned/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Best to say that once a poem is finished I trust it to make its way, and I trust readers will find their way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/best-to-say-that-once-a-poem-is-finished-i-trust-it-to-make-its-way/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [“...a poem is only finished when the last reader has read it or listened to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cees-nooteboom/a-poem-is-only-finished-when-the-last-reader-has-read-it-or-listened/) [Cees Nooteboom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cees-nooteboom/) > [Most of the poems I write go through forty versions and then stay in a file on my computer. I'm not very good at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-laird/most-of-the-poems-i-write-go-through-forty-versions-and-then-stay-in/) [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) > [A poem is never finished, only abandoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/a-poem-is-never-finished-only-abandoned/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [The show was number one in the ratings, Gordon Russell was our head writer, the story lines were magnificent and the acting most exciting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-storm/the-show-was-number-one-in-the-ratings-gordon-russell-was-our-head/) [Michael Storm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-storm/) > [This is how McGregor is, waging mental warfare before the fights. There's no way that guy is going to get in my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-mendes/this-is-how-mcgregor-is-waging-mental-warfare-before-the-fights-there/) [Chad Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-mendes/) > [I used a psychologist when I was playing, It's one of the most powerful things: how you can have a concrete head and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-parker/i-used-a-psychologist-when-i-was-playing-it-s-one-of-the-most/) [Scott Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-parker/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## More by John Burnside > [In many traditions, hawks are sacred: Apollo's messengers for the Greeks, sun symbols for the ancient Egyptians and, in the case of the Lakota…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/in-many-traditions-hawks-are-sacred-apollo-s-messengers-for-the/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [Usually, I would mistrust a book if it took that long to write. Usually, if it isn't done in two years, I suspect there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/usually-i-would-mistrust-a-book-if-it-took-that-long-to-write-usually/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [This is a truth that should be repeated like a mantra: to have any chance of a ful - filling life, we require not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/this-is-a-truth-that-should-be-repeated-like-a-mantra-to-have-any/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [My father was one of those men who sit in a room and you can feel it: the simmer, the sense of some unpredictable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/my-father-was-one-of-those-men-who-sit-in-a-room-and-you-can-feel-it/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [“There are days when that dark face is something I can think of as a friend – a primal energy that carries me forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/there-are-days-when-that-dark-face-is-something-i-can-think-of-as-a/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [I remember how, back in the 1980s, the Scottish Flow Country became an object of bemused controversy as rich celebrities and businessmen from south…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/i-remember-how-back-in-the-1980s-the-scottish-flow-country-became-an/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [The great pleasure that comes from reading poets such as Mark Doty and Marianne Moore is the realisation that the essential virtues - compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/the-great-pleasure-that-comes-from-reading-poets-such-as-mark-doty/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [My second, third and fourth novels were mistakes, essentially.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/my-second-third-and-fourth-novels-were-mistakes-essentially/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [I remember a nightfall from childhood, far from home and off the known track: I'd been walking with some older boys, but they ran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/i-remember-a-nightfall-from-childhood-far-from-home-and-off-the-known/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [One day I was talking about what I was going to do next, and just found myself announcing it: 'I'm going to write a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/one-day-i-was-talking-about-what-i-was-going-to-do-next-and-just/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > ['The Asylum Dance' was written after I'd moved back to Scotland and was a response to moving to my old home area of Fife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/the-asylum-dance-was-written-after-i-d-moved-back-to-scotland-and-was/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [I have never understood why so many gardeners favour straight lines and narrow, regulated borders; perhaps they think wildness could work only in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/i-have-never-understood-why-so-many-gardeners-favour-straight-lines/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [The son of a Fife mining town sledder of coal-bings, bottle-forager, and picture-house troglodyte, I was decidedly urban and knew little about native fauna,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/the-son-of-a-fife-mining-town-sledder-of-coal-bings-bottle-forager/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [ “Everything stayed hidden \[…\] it was all secret – known by anyone who cared to know, but unacknowledged, like a priest’s feverish brightness around… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/everything-stayed-hidden-it-was-all-secret-known-by-anyone-who-cared/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [What is essential - the one thing that could stop us being coarsened to other lives - is that we feel a great, living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/what-is-essential-the-one-thing-that-could-stop-us-being-coarsened-to/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) [Explore all 83 John Burnside quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) ## More Enough quotes > [I guess at it's very core love is connection that just makes so much sense you wonder how you used to live before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-stone/i-guess-at-it-s-very-core-love-is-connection-that-just-makes-so-much/) [Benjamin Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-stone/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I've been lucky enough to, for the most part, surround myself with a lot of people who are more talented than me and who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-franco/i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-for-the-most-part-surround-myself-with-a/) [Dave Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-franco/) > [I love because there is not enough room in my heart to hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rena-kornreich-gelissen/i-love-because-there-is-not-enough-room-in-my-heart-to-hate/) Rena Kornreich Gelissen > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [The vast majority of organizations today have more than enough intelligence, experience and knowledge to be successful. What they lack is organizational health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-lencioni/the-vast-majority-of-organizations-today-have-more-than-enough/) [Patrick Lencioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-lencioni/) > [I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italia-ricci/i-m-an-actor-so-i-m-never-going-to-feel-like-i-ve-done-enough/) [Italia Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italia-ricci/) > [I've been to Manchester enough to know it's a real place. It's not Factory Records and the Smiths bicycling around. I get it. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-murphy/i-ve-been-to-manchester-enough-to-know-it-s-a-real-place-it-s-not/) [James Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-murphy/) > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [Sam dropped me off. When she was too far away to see me, I started to cry again. Because she was my friend again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/sam-dropped-me-off-when-she-was-too-far-away-to-see-me-i-started-to/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [I just worried about my weight. Worried about my appearance and thought I wan't pretty enough to be a pop star. It was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-durham/i-just-worried-about-my-weight-worried-about-my-appearance-and/) [Judith Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-durham/) > [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/) [Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/) > [New York is large, glamorous, easy-going, kindly and incurious, but above all it is a crucible - because it is large enough to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/new-york-is-large-glamorous-easy-going-kindly-and-incurious-but-above/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) Browse all 23,898 Enough quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The poem builds in my mind and sits there, as if in a register, until the poem, or a piece of a longer poem, is finished enough to write down. I can hold several lines in my head for quite some time, but as soon as they are written down, the register clears, as it were, and I have to work with what is on the paper.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Burnside" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/the-poem-builds-in-my-mind-and-sits-there-as-if-in-a-register-until/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enough" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/the-poem-builds-in-my-mind-and-sits-there-as-if-in-a-register-until/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3c/john-burnside-8167_enough_the-poem-builds-in-my-mind-and-sits-ther_15741.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3c/john-burnside-8167_enough_the-poem-builds-in-my-mind-and-sits-ther_15741.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3c/john-burnside-8167_enough_the-poem-builds-in-my-mind-and-sits-ther_15741.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The poem builds in my mind and sits there, as if in a register, until the poem, or a piece of a longer poem…” — John Burnside", "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": "John Burnside", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The poem builds in my mind...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/the-poem-builds-in-my-mind-and-sits-there-as-if-in-a-register-until/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/the-poem-builds-in-my-mind-and-sits-there-as-if-in-a-register-until/#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 } } ] } ```