---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tenderness and Rot Tenderness and rot…"
description: "\"Tenderness and Rot Tenderness and rot share a border. And rot is an aggressive neighbor whose iridescence keeps creeping over. No lessons can be drawn ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/kay-ryan-16282_aggressive_tenderness-and-rot-tenderness-and-rot-sh_2327440.png"
---

#  Tenderness and Rot Tenderness and rot share a border. And…

![“Tenderness and Rot Tenderness and rot share a border. And rot is an aggressive neighbor whose iridescence keeps creeping over. No lessons can be drawn from this however. One is not two countries. One is not meat corrupting. It is important to stay sweet and loving.” quote by Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/kay-ryan-16282_aggressive_tenderness-and-rot-tenderness-and-rot-sh_2327440.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/kay-ryan-16282_aggressive_tenderness-and-rot-tenderness-and-rot-sh_2327440.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/kay-ryan-16282_aggressive_tenderness-and-rot-tenderness-and-rot-sh_2327440.png)

> “Tenderness and Rot Tenderness and rot share a border. And rot is an aggressive neighbor whose iridescence keeps creeping over. No lessons can be drawn from this however. One is not two countries. One is not meat corrupting. It is important to stay sweet and loving.”

[Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Tenderness and decay are adjacent; decay can be vivid and invasive, yet sweetness and love must be preserved despite corruption.

**In simple terms:** Love must stay sweet amid decay.

Key Takeaway

Maintain compassion even when things deteriorate.

Themes

love decay beauty resilience

Mood

contemplative hopeful

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

- relationships
- caregiving
- artistic creation
- mental health care

Key Concepts

dualism impermanence emotional balance

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you keep love alive in harsh environments?
- What practices nurture sweetness against corruption?

A Different Perspective

Focusing only on decay can obscure hope.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Borders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borders/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [Tenderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tenderness/)

## Related quotes

> [He lacked tenderness; he was rude; and he had more than a streak of cruelty in him; he was a thief and a liar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/he-lacked-tenderness-he-was-rude-and-he-had-more-than-a-streak-of/)

[Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/)

> [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [“i want to stay curled and cosied and chocolated…forever in my mother’s arms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanober-khan/i-want-to-stay-curled-and-cosied-and-chocolated-forever-in-my-mother/)

[Sanober Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanober-khan/)

> [We bear the sole, relentless tenderness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/we-bear-the-sole-relentless-tenderness/)

[Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/)

> [“She'd get out of the shower the next morning, and it would be written in the steam on the mirror. Dance. Dress. Try a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/she-d-get-out-of-the-shower-the-next-morning-and-it-would-be-written/)

[Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/)

> [And there is not anything in the world stronger than tenderness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-suyin/and-there-is-not-anything-in-the-world-stronger-than-tenderness/)

[Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/)

> [The most powerful symptom of love is a tenderness which becomes at times almost insupportable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-most-powerful-symptom-of-love-is-a-tenderness-which-becomes-at/)

[Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/)

> [“Rachel was a girl who depended on small, recurrent rituals - that was one of the things he'd come to know about her, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/rachel-was-a-girl-who-depended-on-small-recurrent-rituals-that-was/)

[Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/)

> [“Love has a certain element of tenderness, which alone pierces through the heart and binds us more intimately than any force in the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-soriano/love-has-a-certain-element-of-tenderness-which-alone-pierces-through/)

[Jocelyn Soriano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-soriano/)

> [“I thought you might supply some tenderness I lacked But out of all the things I offered you took my breath away and now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/i-thought-you-might-supply-some-tenderness-i-lacked-but-out-of-all/)

[Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/)

> [If a man is pictured chopping off a woman's breast, it only gets an R rating; but if, God forbid, a man is pictured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-struthers/if-a-man-is-pictured-chopping-off-a-woman-s-breast-it-only-gets-an-r/)

Sally Struthers

> [No one, it has been said, will ever look at the Moon in the same way again. More significantly can one say that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/no-one-it-has-been-said-will-ever-look-at-the-moon-in-the-same-way/)

[Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/)

> [The pleasures and the cares of the luckiest ambition, even of limitless power, are nothing next to the intimate happiness that tenderness and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/the-pleasures-and-the-cares-of-the-luckiest-ambition-even-of/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [“Lord Thornbeck lifted her onto the saddle. He looked her in the eye, and her breath stilled in her chest. There was such an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-dickerson/lord-thornbeck-lifted-her-onto-the-saddle-he-looked-her-in-the-eye/)

[Melanie Dickerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-dickerson/)

> [Age, per se, may claim tenderness and pity, but not respect; that only comes when the years have brought humanity and wisdom and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/age-per-se-may-claim-tenderness-and-pity-but-not-respect-that-only/)

[Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/)

## More by Kay Ryan

> [A too closely watched flower/blossoms the wrong color./Excess attention to the jonquil/turns it gentian. Flowers/need it tranquil to get/their hues right. Some/only open at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/a-too-closely-watched-flower-blossoms-the-wrong-color-excess/)

[Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/)

> [It isn't ever delicate to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/it-isn-t-ever-delicate-to-live/)

[Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/)

> [I simply want to celebrate the fact that right near your home, year in and year out, a community college is quietly - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/i-simply-want-to-celebrate-the-fact-that-right-near-your-home-year-in/)

[Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/)

> [The day misspent, the love misplaced, has inside it the seed of redemption. Nothing is exempt from resurrection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/the-day-misspent-the-love-misplaced-has-inside-it-the-seed-of/)

[Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/)

> [“ Stardust is the hardest thing to hold out for. You must make of yourself a perfect plane- something still upon which something settles-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/stardust-is-the-hardest-thing-to-hold-out-for-you-must-make-of/)

[Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/)

> [What keeps me writing is that I can only know through writing. My major sense organ is apparently a pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/what-keeps-me-writing-is-that-i-can-only-know-through-writing-my/)

[Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/)

> [Forgetting takes space./Forgotten matters displace/as much anything else as/anything else. We must/skirt unlabeled crates/as thought it made sense/and take them when we go/to other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/forgetting-takes-space-forgotten-matters-displace-as-much-anything/)

[Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/)

> [“The Self Is Not Portable The self is not portable. It cannot be packed. It comes sneaking back to any place from which it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/the-self-is-not-portable-the-self-is-not-portable-it-cannot-be-packed/)

[Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/)

> [Who would have guessed it possible that waiting is sustainable. A place with its own harvest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/who-would-have-guessed-it-possible-that-waiting-is-sustainable-a/)

[Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/)

> [The only real access that I have to my mind is when I'm writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/the-only-real-access-that-i-have-to-my-mind-is-when-i-m-writing/)

[Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/)

> [Gaps don't/just happen./There is a/generative element/inside them,/a welling motion/ as when cold/waters shoulder/up through/warmer oceans./And where gaps/choose to widen,/coordinates warp,/even in places/constant since/the oldest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/gaps-don-t-just-happen-there-is-a-generative-element-inside-them-a/)

[Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/)

> [“Hide and Seek It's hard not to jump out instead of waiting to be found. It's hard to be alone so long and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/hide-and-seek-it-s-hard-not-to-jump-out-instead-of-waiting-to-be/)

[Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/)

> [“There are high places that don’t invite us, sharp shapes, glacier-scraped faces, whole ranges whose given names slip off. Any such relation as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/there-are-high-places-that-don-t-invite-us-sharp-shapes-glacier/)

[Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/)

> [I simply want to celebrate the fact that right near your home, year in and year out, a community college is quietly — and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/i-simply-want-to-celebrate-the-fact-that-right-near-your-home-year-in-2/)

[Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/)

> [“A certain kind of Eden holds us thrall.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/a-certain-kind-of-eden-holds-us-thrall/)

[Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/)

[Explore all 40 Kay Ryan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/)

## More Aggressive quotes

> [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/)

[Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/)

> [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

> [Good girls don't hurt other people's feelings. Good girls are not overly aggressive, competitive, or boastful. Good girls please others. But what good girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jane-gilman/good-girls-don-t-hurt-other-people-s-feelings-good-girls-are-not/)

[Susan Jane Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jane-gilman/)

> [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [“Passive...Aggressive...Pussy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-azzarello/passive-aggressive-pussy/)

[Brian Azzarello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-azzarello/)

> [I'm not a fan of endless mystery in storytelling - I like to know where the mythology's going; I like to get there in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kripke/i-m-not-a-fan-of-endless-mystery-in-storytelling-i-like-to-know-where/)

[Eric Kripke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kripke/)

> [Most conservatives - by which I mean normal people - have little conception of the aggressive and revolutionary force that confronts them. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bethell/most-conservatives-by-which-i-mean-normal-people-have-little/)

[Tom Bethell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bethell/)

> [If I serve good and play aggressive from the baseline, I can beat everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karolina-pliskova/if-i-serve-good-and-play-aggressive-from-the-baseline-i-can-beat/)

[Karolina Pliskova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karolina-pliskova/)

> [I'm just trying to be aggressive. Be aggressive with my shot. Be aggressive going to the rim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamal-murray/i-m-just-trying-to-be-aggressive-be-aggressive-with-my-shot-be/)

[Jamal Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamal-murray/)

> [I see other teams playing aggressive, attacking football, they are games I switch on and watch. They are the football teams I want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelos-postecoglou/i-see-other-teams-playing-aggressive-attacking-football-they-are/)

[Angelos Postecoglou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelos-postecoglou/)

> [You cannot will yourself to be happy while believing that you have no right to happiness, or that you are unworthy of it. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-roberts/you-cannot-will-yourself-to-be-happy-while-believing-that-you-have-no/)

[Jane Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-roberts/)

> [I have definitely noticed I am very passionate. So if I'm fighting with someone I'll be SO super loud and aggressive, and make sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-martinez/i-have-definitely-noticed-i-am-very-passionate-so-if-i-m-fighting/)

[Melanie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-martinez/)

> [ I think the president's \[Barack Obama\] position has been very clear on Syria. He wants more aggressive, he's put the Special Ops on the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-williams/i-think-the-president-s-barack-obama-position-has-been-very-clear-on/)

[Juan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-williams/)

> [As Americans, we want peace - we work and sacrifice for peace. But there can be no peace if our security depends on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/as-americans-we-want-peace-we-work-and-sacrifice-for-peace-but-there/)

[George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/)

> [It is deeply concerning to learn that Linda Thomas-Greenfield repeatedly praised autocratic China's aggressive and troubling expansion into Africa during a 2019 speech at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hagerty/it-is-deeply-concerning-to-learn-that-linda-thomas-greenfield/)

[Bill Hagerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hagerty/)

Browse all 1,351 Aggressive quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Tenderness and Rot Tenderness and rot share a border. And rot is an aggressive neighbor whose iridescence keeps creeping over. No lessons can be drawn from this however. One is not two countries. One is not meat corrupting. It is important to stay sweet and loving.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Kay Ryan"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/tenderness-and-rot-tenderness-and-rot-share-a-border-and-rot-is-an/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Aggressive"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/tenderness-and-rot-tenderness-and-rot-share-a-border-and-rot-is-an/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/kay-ryan-16282_aggressive_tenderness-and-rot-tenderness-and-rot-sh_2327440.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/kay-ryan-16282_aggressive_tenderness-and-rot-tenderness-and-rot-sh_2327440.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/kay-ryan-16282_aggressive_tenderness-and-rot-tenderness-and-rot-sh_2327440.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Tenderness and Rot Tenderness and rot share a border. And rot is an aggressive neighbor whose iridescence…” — Kay Ryan",
                "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": "Kay Ryan",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Tenderness and Rot Tenderness and rot...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/tenderness-and-rot-tenderness-and-rot-share-a-border-and-rot-is-an/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/tenderness-and-rot-tenderness-and-rot-share-a-border-and-rot-is-an/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
