--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Teasing and tempting and playing We loved…" description: "\"“Teasing and tempting and playing We loved like children, us both But somebody, hiding a smile, Set up the ungentle nets - And here we are at the harbo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/372/marina-tsvetaeva-13938_children_teasing-and-tempting-and-playing-we-love_703741.jpg" --- # Teasing and tempting and playing We loved like children… ![“Teasing and tempting and playing We loved like children, us both But somebody, hiding a smile, Set up the ungentle nets - And here we are at the harbor, Not seeing the wished-for abodes, But knowing that I will be yours In the heart, without words, until death. You told me of all things - so…” quote by Marina Tsvetaeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/372/marina-tsvetaeva-13938_children_teasing-and-tempting-and-playing-we-love_703741.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/372/marina-tsvetaeva-13938_children_teasing-and-tempting-and-playing-we-love_703741.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/372/marina-tsvetaeva-13938_children_teasing-and-tempting-and-playing-we-love_703741.jpg) > ““Teasing and tempting and playing We loved like children, us both But somebody, hiding a smile, Set up the ungentle nets - And here we are at the harbor, Not seeing the wished-for abodes, But knowing that I will be yours In the heart, without words, until death. You told me of all things - so early! I guessed them so late! In our hearts A wound is eternal, a silent Question exists in our eyes, The desert on earth is so endless, The heaven, so high, has no stars, Revealed is the tender secret, And frost rules for centuries. I will talk to shades! O my dear, To forget you I do not have might, Your visage can't move under shadow Of eyelids gone over my eyes... It's darkening... Shutters have closed, On all things descending is night... I love you, one ghostly-eternal, And only you - and always!”” [Marina Tsvetaeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-tsvetaeva/) ## 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 expresses deep, timeless love, yearning, and the pain of separation, using vivid natural imagery and metaphors of darkness and eternity. **In simple terms:** A lover speaks of eternal devotion despite distance and darkness, using rich imagery. Key Takeaway Embrace love’s depth while acknowledging its challenges and mysteries. Themes love longing eternity separation nature Mood melancholic intense Type lyetic emotional When to use this quote - personal loss - spiritual connection - artistic expression - grief processing - intimate confession Key Concepts poetic metaphor existential yearning emotional intensity Questions to Reflect On - What does the “harbor” symbolize for you? - How does darkness shape the poet’s perception of love? A Different Perspective The abstract language may obscure concrete meaning for some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) [Goodbyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodbyes/) [Night love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night-love/) ## Related quotes > [“On a cloudy night, when nothing seems above, still, there is love. Always love. For something, from someone. It's never done. Never.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-rana/on-a-cloudy-night-when-nothing-seems-above-still-there-is-love-always/) [Deepak Rana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-rana/) > [“In the darkest crease of the night, that she would love me until the moon lost its footing in the sky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/in-the-darkest-crease-of-the-night-that-she-would-love-me-until-the/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [One night love affair, pretending we don't care, and now we're left with nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-adams/one-night-love-affair-pretending-we-don-t-care-and-now-we-re-left/) [Bryan Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-adams/) > [If you can't go to sleep at night, you must be in love, because your dreams are better than your reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-can-t-go-to-sleep-at-night-you-must-be-in-love-because-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The last night of love, the first night of war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camil-petrescu/the-last-night-of-love-the-first-night-of-war/) [Camil Petrescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camil-petrescu/) > [If you only crave them at night, its not love, its lust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-only-crave-them-at-night-its-not-love-its-lust/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Three words you said to me in the night... I love you I need you I want you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-harrington/three-words-you-said-to-me-in-the-night-i-love-you-i-need-you-i-want/) [Chelsea Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-harrington/) > [The world is for those who make their dreams come true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-gray/the-world-is-for-those-who-make-their-dreams-come-true/) Harold Gray > [A grandmother always thinks about her granchildren,,day and night even if they are not with her and will love them in a way they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-grandmother-always-thinks-about-her-granchildren-day-and-night-even/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Isn't that the way everything begins? A night, a love, a once and for all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/isn-t-that-the-way-everything-begins-a-night-a-love-a-once-and-for-all/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“Love, that is first and last of all things made, The light that has the living world for shade, The spirit that for temporal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-charles-swinburne/love-that-is-first-and-last-of-all-things-made-the-light-that-has-the/) [Algernon Charles Swinburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-charles-swinburne/) > [“ At Night Love said, "Wake still and think of me," Sleep, "Close your eyes till break of day," But Dreams came by and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-teasdale/at-night-love-said-wake-still-and-think-of-me-sleep-close-your-eyes/) [Sara Teasdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-teasdale/) > [“As the dawn loves the sunlight that must cease Ere dawn again may rise and pass in peace; Must die that she being dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-charles-swinburne/as-the-dawn-loves-the-sunlight-that-must-cease-ere-dawn-again-may/) [Algernon Charles Swinburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-charles-swinburne/) > [You are, my light in the dark You are, the beating in my heart But that is not enough, will I ever be by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-g/you-are-my-light-in-the-dark-you-are-the-beating-in-my-heart-but-that/) Jeremy G > [“Good night, my love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-ethington/good-night-my-love/) [Rebecca Ethington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-ethington/) ## More by Marina Tsvetaeva > [“At the skin, my blood calls out to your heart, my whole sky craves an island of tenderness. My rivers tilt towards you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/at-the-skin-my-blood-calls-out-to-your-heart-my-whole-sky-craves-an/) [Marina Tsvetaeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-tsvetaeva/) > [There are books so alive that you're always afraid that while you weren't reading, the book has gone and changed, has shifted like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/there-are-books-so-alive-that-you-re-always-afraid-that-while-you/) [Marina Tsvetaeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-tsvetaeva/) > [One should write only those books from whose absence one suffers. In short: the ones you want on your own desk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/one-should-write-only-those-books-from-whose-absence-one-suffers-in/) [Marina Tsvetaeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-tsvetaeva/) > [What shall I do, singer and first-born, in a world where the deepest black is grey, and inspiration is kept in a thermos? with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/what-shall-i-do-singer-and-first-born-in-a-world-where-the-deepest/) [Marina Tsvetaeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-tsvetaeva/) > [“The forbidden cabinet. The forbidden fruit. That fruit is—a volume, a huge blue-lilac volume with a gold inscription slantwise: Collected Works of A.S. Pushkin.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/the-forbidden-cabinet-the-forbidden-fruit-that-fruit-is-a-volume-a/) [Marina Tsvetaeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-tsvetaeva/) > [No one has ever stepped twice into the same river. But did anyone ever step twice into the same book?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/no-one-has-ever-stepped-twice-into-the-same-river-but-did-anyone-ever/) [Marina Tsvetaeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-tsvetaeva/) > [I am a moonbeam, free to go whenever I choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/i-am-a-moonbeam-free-to-go-whenever-i-choose/) [Marina Tsvetaeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-tsvetaeva/) > [In this most Christian of worlds all poets are Jews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/in-this-most-christian-of-worlds-all-poets-are-jews/) [Marina Tsvetaeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-tsvetaeva/) > [An amazing observation: it is precisely for feelings that one needs time, not for thought. ... Feelings, obviously, are more demanding than thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/an-amazing-observation-it-is-precisely-for-feelings-that-one-needs/) [Marina Tsvetaeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-tsvetaeva/) > [“A shoe's material - leather - is calculable and finite. work of art's material (not sound, not word, not stone, not canvas, but spirit)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/a-shoe-s-material-leather-is-calculable-and-finite-work-of-art-s/) [Marina Tsvetaeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-tsvetaeva/) > [“Your name is a -- bird in my hand a piece of -- ice on the tongue one single movement of the lips. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/your-name-is-a-bird-in-my-hand-a-piece-of-ice-on-the-tongue-one/) [Marina Tsvetaeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-tsvetaeva/) > [Women talk about love and silent about lovers, men - on the contrary: Speaking of mistresses, but are silent about love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/women-talk-about-love-and-silent-about-lovers-men-on-the-contrary/) [Marina Tsvetaeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-tsvetaeva/) > [“Life is a railroad station; soon I will set out - for where? I will not say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/life-is-a-railroad-station-soon-i-will-set-out-for-where-i-will-not/) [Marina Tsvetaeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-tsvetaeva/) > [“(Everyday life is like a sack: with holes. And you carry it anyway.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/everyday-life-is-like-a-sack-with-holes-and-you-carry-it-anyway/) [Marina Tsvetaeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-tsvetaeva/) > [“For the way of the comets is the poet's way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/for-the-way-of-the-comets-is-the-poet-s-way/) [Marina Tsvetaeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-tsvetaeva/) [Explore all 47 Marina Tsvetaeva quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-tsvetaeva/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [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/) > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) [Browse all 62,396 Children quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Teasing and tempting and playing We loved like children, us both But somebody, hiding a smile, Set up the ungentle nets - And here we are at the harbor, Not seeing the wished-for abodes, But knowing that I will be yours In the heart, without words, until death. You told me of all things - so early! I guessed them so late! In our hearts A wound is eternal, a silent Question exists in our eyes, The desert on earth is so endless, The heaven, so high, has no stars, Revealed is the tender secret, And frost rules for centuries. I will talk to shades! O my dear, To forget you I do not have might, Your visage can't move under shadow Of eyelids gone over my eyes... It's darkening... Shutters have closed, On all things descending is night... I love you, one ghostly-eternal, And only you - and always!”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marina Tsvetaeva" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/teasing-and-tempting-and-playing-we-loved-like-children-us-both-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Children" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/teasing-and-tempting-and-playing-we-loved-like-children-us-both-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/372/marina-tsvetaeva-13938_children_teasing-and-tempting-and-playing-we-love_703741.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/372/marina-tsvetaeva-13938_children_teasing-and-tempting-and-playing-we-love_703741.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/372/marina-tsvetaeva-13938_children_teasing-and-tempting-and-playing-we-love_703741.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Teasing and tempting and playing We loved like children, us both But somebody, hiding a smile, Set up the…” — Marina Tsvetaeva", "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": "Marina Tsvetaeva", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-tsvetaeva/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Teasing and tempting and playing We...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/teasing-and-tempting-and-playing-we-loved-like-children-us-both-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/teasing-and-tempting-and-playing-we-loved-like-children-us-both-but/#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 } } ] } ```