---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The mind wraps itself around a poem. It…"
description: "\"The mind wraps itself around a poem. It is almost sensual, particularly if you work on a computer. You can turn the poem round and about and upside dow..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/marge-piercy-2610_computer_the-mind-wraps-itself-around-a-poem-it-i_2446742.jpg"
---

#  The mind wraps itself around a poem. It is almost sensual…

![“The mind wraps itself around a poem. It is almost sensual, particularly if you work on a computer. You can turn the poem round and about and upside down, dancing with it a kind of bolero of two snakes twisting and coiling, until the poem has found its right and proper shape.” quote by Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/marge-piercy-2610_computer_the-mind-wraps-itself-around-a-poem-it-i_2446742.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/marge-piercy-2610_computer_the-mind-wraps-itself-around-a-poem-it-i_2446742.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/marge-piercy-2610_computer_the-mind-wraps-itself-around-a-poem-it-i_2446742.jpg)

> “The mind wraps itself around a poem. It is almost sensual, particularly if you work on a computer. You can turn the poem round and about and upside down, dancing with it a kind of bolero of two snakes twisting and coiling, until the poem has found its right and proper shape.”

[Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/)

## About This Quote

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

The mind engages with a poem like a physical dance, twisting and reshaping it until it fits naturally.

**In simple terms:** Thinking about a poem is like moving a flexible object until it feels right.

Key Takeaway

Embrace the fluid, playful interaction with ideas.

Themes

creativity interpretation playfulness

Mood

inspired curious

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- writing
- programming
- literary analysis

Key Concepts

cognitive flexibility embodied cognition

Questions to Reflect On

- How does physical metaphor aid understanding?
- What limits does this view impose?

A Different Perspective

The metaphor may over‑emphasize sensuality, limiting analytical rigor.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Coiling Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coiling-poem-535520/) [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Dancing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dancing/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem/) [Poem Sensual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem-sensual-535518/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Rounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rounds/) [Sensual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensual/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Snakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snakes/) [Turn Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turn-poem-535519/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Upside down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upside-down/) [Wraps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wraps/) [Wraps Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wraps-poem-535521/)

## Related quotes

> [I have always wanted to midcourse-correct (or undermine) in a poem, and let that be the turn. That poem is to do with displacement,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-mann/i-have-always-wanted-to-midcourse-correct-or-undermine-in-a-poem-and/)

[Randall Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-mann/)

> [“You have never been as beautiful as you will be through our eyes. You will have never known that the hard edge of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-leblanc/you-have-never-been-as-beautiful-as-you-will-be-through-our-eyes-you/)

[Jeanette LeBlanc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-leblanc/)

> [Sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/sustained-and-soothed-by-an-unfaltering-trust-approach-thy-grave-like/)

[William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/)

> [Women wrap men with their second attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/women-wrap-men-with-their-second-attention/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [The fiction writer has a lot of balls to juggle. Setting, pacing, dialogue, and so on. And let's not forget: plot. That was always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/the-fiction-writer-has-a-lot-of-balls-to-juggle-setting-pacing/)

[Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/)

> [Don't think the purpose of meditation is to go deep into consciousness, wrap a blanket around yourself, and say, 'How cozy! I'm going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eknath-easwaran/don-t-think-the-purpose-of-meditation-is-to-go-deep-into/)

[Eknath Easwaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eknath-easwaran/)

> [Improvisation is a great mystery. You play something, and you play an answer to it. Then you play something to wrap it up. Nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-knepper/improvisation-is-a-great-mystery-you-play-something-and-you-play-an/)

[Jimmy Knepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-knepper/)

> [“Those who don't feel this Love pulling them like a river, those who don't drink dawn like a cup of spring water or take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/those-who-don-t-feel-this-love-pulling-them-like-a-river-those-who/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [If this world is wearing thin And you're thinking of escape I'll go anywhere with you Just wrap me up in chains But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siobhan-fahey/if-this-world-is-wearing-thin-and-you-re-thinking-of-escape-i-ll-go/)

[Siobhan Fahey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siobhan-fahey/)

> [O it is a happy thing to feel ourselves helpless and naught, for then the presence of God is felt to wrap us about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mountford/o-it-is-a-happy-thing-to-feel-ourselves-helpless-and-naught-for-then/)

[William Mountford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mountford/)

> [It's more than just a dress; it's a spirit. The wrap dress was an interesting cultural phenomenon, and one that has lasted 30 years.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/it-s-more-than-just-a-dress-it-s-a-spirit-the-wrap-dress-was-an/)

[Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/)

> [We're actors at the end of the day. I don't take it home with me. My experience outside of work, I love... when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heath-ledger/we-re-actors-at-the-end-of-the-day-i-don-t-take-it-home-with-me-my/)

[Heath Ledger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heath-ledger/)

> [Thank God that at this hour I am dangerous to the war profiteers of this country who rob the people on the one hand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-richards-o-hare/thank-god-that-at-this-hour-i-am-dangerous-to-the-war-profiteers-of/)

[Kate Richards O'Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-richards-o-hare/)

> [Donald Trump said he will not decide about a possible run for the presidency until after the current season of Celebrity Apprentice wraps up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/donald-trump-said-he-will-not-decide-about-a-possible-run-for-the/)

[Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/)

> [And I sat there getting drunker and drunker and more in love and more in love...And you can never touch a girl in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-barthelme/and-i-sat-there-getting-drunker-and-drunker-and-more-in-love-and-more/)

[Donald Barthelme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-barthelme/)

## More by Marge Piercy

> [Shared laughter is erotic too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/shared-laughter-is-erotic-too/)

[Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/)

> [Work is its own cure. You have to like it better than being loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/work-is-its-own-cure-you-have-to-like-it-better-than-being-loved/)

[Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/)

> [The anger of the weak never goes away, Professor, it just gets a little moldy. It molds like a beautiful blue cheese in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-anger-of-the-weak-never-goes-away-professor-it-just-gets-a-little/)

[Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/)

> [“The people I love the best jump into work head first without dallying in the shallows and swim off with sure strokes almost out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-people-i-love-the-best-jump-into-work-head-first-without-dallying/)

[Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/)

> [Every poet has a certain amount of "stuff." That's what you draw from for imagery. The more stuff you know well, not simply intellectually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/every-poet-has-a-certain-amount-of-stuff-that-s-what-you-draw-from/)

[Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/)

> [the body is simple as a turtle / and straight as a dog: / the body cannot lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-body-is-simple-as-a-turtle-and-straight-as-a-dog-the-body-cannot/)

[Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/)

> [We must shine with hope, stained glass windows that shape light into icons, glow like lanterns borne before a procession. Who can bear hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/we-must-shine-with-hope-stained-glass-windows-that-shape-light-into/)

[Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/)

> [Remember that every son had a mother whose beloved son he was, and every woman had a mother whose beloved son she wasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/remember-that-every-son-had-a-mother-whose-beloved-son-he-was-and/)

[Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/)

> [We live in a media soup and are constantly being programmed or are fighting that programming. Thus any truthful account of a life, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/we-live-in-a-media-soup-and-are-constantly-being-programmed-or-are/)

[Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/)

> [The moon is always female and so am I although often in the vale of razorblades I have wished I could put on and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-moon-is-always-female-and-so-am-i-although-often-in-the-vale-of/)

[Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/)

> [Sometimes when a character in a novel is difficult for me to enter, I sue something in myself or in my own life as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/sometimes-when-a-character-in-a-novel-is-difficult-for-me-to-enter-i/)

[Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/)

> [Doorways are sacred to women for we are the doorways of life and we must choose what comes in and what goes out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/doorways-are-sacred-to-women-for-we-are-the-doorways-of-life-and-we/)

[Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/)

> [“Writing sometimes feels frivolous and sometimes sacred, but memory is one of my strongest muses. I serve her with my words. So long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/writing-sometimes-feels-frivolous-and-sometimes-sacred-but-memory-is/)

[Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/)

> [The work of the world is common as mud. Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust. But the thing worth doing well done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-work-of-the-world-is-common-as-mud-botched-it-smears-the-hands/)

[Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/)

> [We're herded into schools and terrified into behaving. Taught how we're supposed to pretend to be, taught to parrot all kinds of nonsense at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/we-re-herded-into-schools-and-terrified-into-behaving-taught-how-we/)

[Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/)

[Explore all 158 Marge Piercy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/)

## More Computer quotes

> [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/)

[Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/)

> [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/)

[Jen-Hsun Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-hsun-huang/)

> [It's interesting that the greatest minds of computer science, the founding fathers, like Alan Turing and Claude Shannon and Norbert Wiener, they all looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/it-s-interesting-that-the-greatest-minds-of-computer-science-the/)

[Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/)

> [One of our big goals in search is to make search that really understands exactly what you want, understands everything in the world. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/one-of-our-big-goals-in-search-is-to-make-search-that-really/)

[Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/)

> [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/)

[Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/)

> [I'm from the South, so I'm very old-fashioned and I'm not very computer savvy at all, but I'm getting it. I understand that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-harmon/i-m-from-the-south-so-i-m-very-old-fashioned-and-i-m-not-very/)

[Angie Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-harmon/)

> [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/)

[Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/)

> [A little bit more than 50% of what you see on screen is handcrafted and the other 50% was about emulating these textures on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-abreu/a-little-bit-more-than-50-of-what-you-see-on-screen-is-handcrafted/)

[Alex Abreu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-abreu/)

> [Well I'm trying to think what I put in... I think I put in 'why?' to see if I'd confuse the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/well-i-m-trying-to-think-what-i-put-in-i-think-i-put-in-why-to-see-if/)

[Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/)

> [Our brains are great at knowing what to forget. We actually have to teach computers to do the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/our-brains-are-great-at-knowing-what-to-forget-we-actually-have-to/)

[Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/)

> [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [In nine months, a group of children left alone with a computer in any language will reach the same standard as an office secretary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/in-nine-months-a-group-of-children-left-alone-with-a-computer-in-any/)

[Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/)

> [Why do you do what you do? Why do you dress the way you dress?Why do you do what you do with your time?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-conway/why-do-you-do-what-you-do-why-do-you-dress-the-way-you-dress-why-do/)

[Tim Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-conway/)

> [Yeah, I'm a geek. I read sci-fi and I watch sci-fi films. I love my computer and I love to fix it. I'm a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-benson/yeah-i-m-a-geek-i-read-sci-fi-and-i-watch-sci-fi-films-i-love-my/)

[Amber Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-benson/)

[Browse all 3,924 Computer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The mind wraps itself around a poem. It is almost sensual, particularly if you work on a computer. You can turn the poem round and about and upside down, dancing with it a kind of bolero of two snakes twisting and coiling, until the poem has found its right and proper shape.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Marge Piercy"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-mind-wraps-itself-around-a-poem-it-is-almost-sensual-particularly/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Computer"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-mind-wraps-itself-around-a-poem-it-is-almost-sensual-particularly/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/marge-piercy-2610_computer_the-mind-wraps-itself-around-a-poem-it-i_2446742.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/marge-piercy-2610_computer_the-mind-wraps-itself-around-a-poem-it-i_2446742.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/marge-piercy-2610_computer_the-mind-wraps-itself-around-a-poem-it-i_2446742.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The mind wraps itself around a poem. It is almost sensual, particularly if you work on a computer. You can…” — Marge Piercy",
                "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": "Marge Piercy",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The mind wraps itself around a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-mind-wraps-itself-around-a-poem-it-is-almost-sensual-particularly/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-mind-wraps-itself-around-a-poem-it-is-almost-sensual-particularly/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
