--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The moon from any window is one part…" description: "\"“The moon from any window is one part whoever’s looking. The part I can’t see is everything my sister keeps to herself. One part my dead brother’s slee..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/li-young-lee-17263_parenting_the-moon-from-any-window-is-one-part-who_949190.jpg" --- # The moon from any window is one part whoever’s looking… ![“The moon from any window is one part whoever’s looking. The part I can’t see is everything my sister keeps to herself. One part my dead brother’s sleepless brow, the other part the time I waste, the time I won’t have. But which is the lion killed for the sake of the honey inside him, and which the…” quote by Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/li-young-lee-17263_parenting_the-moon-from-any-window-is-one-part-who_949190.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/li-young-lee-17263_parenting_the-moon-from-any-window-is-one-part-who_949190.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/li-young-lee-17263_parenting_the-moon-from-any-window-is-one-part-who_949190.jpg) > ““The moon from any window is one part whoever’s looking. The part I can’t see is everything my sister keeps to herself. One part my dead brother’s sleepless brow, the other part the time I waste, the time I won’t have. But which is the lion killed for the sake of the honey inside him, and which the wine, stranded in a valley, unredeemed? And don’t forget the curtains. Don’t forget the wind in the trees, or my mother’s voice saying things that will take my whole life to come true. One part earnest child grown tall in his mother’s doorway, and one a last look over the shoulder before leaving. And never forget it answers to no address, but calls wave after wave to a path or thirst. Never forget the candle climbing down without glancing back. And what about the heart counting alone, out loud, in that game in which the many hide from the one? Never forget the cry completely hollowed of the dying one who cried it. Only in such pure outpouring is there room for all this night.”” [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poem weaves memory, loss, and longing, using vivid images to explore how personal and collective histories intertwine. **In simple terms:** Memory and loss blend in vivid images. Key Takeaway Notice how small details hold deep meaning. Themes memory loss family time identity Mood melancholic contemplative Type poetic lyational When to use this quote - journaling - grief counseling - family storytelling - creative writing Key Concepts poetry imagery stream of consciousness Questions to Reflect On - Which image resonates most with your own experience? - How does the poem’s structure affect its emotional impact? A Different Perspective The abstract style may be hard to grasp for some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dead Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-brother/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“That," she said, "is a little closer to how I imagine it works. 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She supposed that he was finding his last words to his dead brother very difficult indeed. She began to feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-ellis/shoulders-shook-slightly-she-supposed-that-he-was-finding-his-last/) [Joy Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-ellis/) > [Ever watched this a guy takes over some dude life I guess dies or something for the government. He his twin brother I believe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-country/ever-watched-this-a-guy-takes-over-some-dude-life-i-guess-dies-or/) [Michael Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-country/) > [Our dead brothers and sisters still live for us and bid us think of life, not death-of life to which in their youth they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-dead-brothers-and-sisters-still-live-for-us-and-bid-us-think-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“His vision blurred to haze, the sounds of feasting stilled, and from every dark corner, shadows streamed toward him until they reached the dais…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-bracewell/his-vision-blurred-to-haze-the-sounds-of-feasting-stilled-and-from/) Patricia Bracewell > [“Thousands of years of tradition. People don't see the humanity that lies in the animals, same as people don't see the animal that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/thousands-of-years-of-tradition-people-don-t-see-the-humanity-that/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) > [“Well you know who's whereabouts is rather important to me," Richard said stiffly. and then pointed out, "And I wouldn't have had to wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynsay-sands/well-you-know-who-s-whereabouts-is-rather-important-to-me-richard/) [Lynsay Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynsay-sands/) > [“La Nebuleuse is a poem of lovely & deep perspective, where, symboloized by artless beings, are seen the successive generations of men following each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/la-nebuleuse-is-a-poem-of-lovely-deep-perspective-where-symboloized/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) ## More by Li-Young Lee > [Memory revises me. Even now a letter comes from a place I don’t know, from someone with my name and postmarked years ago, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/memory-revises-me-even-now-a-letter-comes-from-a-place-i-don-t-know/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Could it be in longing we are most ourselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/could-it-be-in-longing-we-are-most-ourselves/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Our bodies look solid, but they arent. Were like a fountain. A fountain of water looks solid, but you can put your fingers right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/our-bodies-look-solid-but-they-arent-were-like-a-fountain-a-fountain/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [A poem is like a score for the human voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/a-poem-is-like-a-score-for-the-human-voice/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [I've been thinking about something for a long time, and I keep noticing that most human speech-if not all human speech-is made with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/i-ve-been-thinking-about-something-for-a-long-time-and-i-keep/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [“From blossoms comes this brown paper bag of peaches we bought from the boy at the bend in the road where we turned toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/from-blossoms-comes-this-brown-paper-bag-of-peaches-we-bought-from/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [“Moonlight and high wind. Dark poplars toss, insinuate the sea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/moonlight-and-high-wind-dark-poplars-toss-insinuate-the-sea/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [“But, no one can tell without cease our human story, and so we lose, lose”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/but-no-one-can-tell-without-cease-our-human-story-and-so-we-lose-lose/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Poetry is the language of extremity. Poetry is a transfer of potency. You feel something potent and then you transfer it onto the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/poetry-is-the-language-of-extremity-poetry-is-a-transfer-of-potency/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [We suffer each other to have each other a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/we-suffer-each-other-to-have-each-other-a-while/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Maybe being winged means being wounded by infinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/maybe-being-winged-means-being-wounded-by-infinity/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [“In the uproar, the confusion of accents and inflections how will you hear me when I open my mouth? Look for me, one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/in-the-uproar-the-confusion-of-accents-and-inflections-how-will-you/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Brimming. That's what it is, I want to get to a place where my sentences enact brimming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/brimming-that-s-what-it-is-i-want-to-get-to-a-place-where-my/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [There are days we live as if death were nowhere in the background; from joy to joy to joy, from wing to wing, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/there-are-days-we-live-as-if-death-were-nowhere-in-the-background/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [To pull the metal splinter from my palm my father recited a story in a low voice. I watched his lovely face and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/to-pull-the-metal-splinter-from-my-palm-my-father-recited-a-story-in/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) [Explore all 37 Li-Young Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) ## More Mother quotes > [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [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/) > [My mother was strong-willed, demanding, and very supportive all at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-spence/my-mother-was-strong-willed-demanding-and-very-supportive-all-at-the/) [Michael Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-spence/) > [Everything comes home, my mother used to say; every word spoken, every shadow cast, every footprint in the sand. It can't be helped; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/everything-comes-home-my-mother-used-to-say-every-word-spoken-every/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [I would give anything to be able to kick a ball with my son or read the kids a bedtime story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-burrow/i-would-give-anything-to-be-able-to-kick-a-ball-with-my-son-or-read/) [Rob Burrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-burrow/) > [Being a new mother is a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaedra-parks/being-a-new-mother-is-a-blessing/) [Phaedra Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phaedra-parks/) > [Named after my mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-raitt/named-after-my-mother/) [Bonnie Raitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-raitt/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. 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Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) [Browse all 24,507 Mother quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The moon from any window is one part whoever’s looking. The part I can’t see is everything my sister keeps to herself. One part my dead brother’s sleepless brow, the other part the time I waste, the time I won’t have. But which is the lion killed for the sake of the honey inside him, and which the wine, stranded in a valley, unredeemed? And don’t forget the curtains. Don’t forget the wind in the trees, or my mother’s voice saying things that will take my whole life to come true. One part earnest child grown tall in his mother’s doorway, and one a last look over the shoulder before leaving. And never forget it answers to no address, but calls wave after wave to a path or thirst. Never forget the candle climbing down without glancing back. And what about the heart counting alone, out loud, in that game in which the many hide from the one? Never forget the cry completely hollowed of the dying one who cried it. 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