--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One way of ending the poem is to turn it…" description: "\"One way of ending the poem is to turn it back on itself, like a serpent with its tail in its mouth.\" — Maxine Kumin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/maxine-kumin-16101_mouths_one-way-of-ending-the-poem-is-to-turn-it_2077974.png" --- # One way of ending the poem is to turn it back on itself… ![“One way of ending the poem is to turn it back on itself, like a serpent with its tail in its mouth.” quote by Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/maxine-kumin-16101_mouths_one-way-of-ending-the-poem-is-to-turn-it_2077974.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/maxine-kumin-16101_mouths_one-way-of-ending-the-poem-is-to-turn-it_2077974.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/maxine-kumin-16101_mouths_one-way-of-ending-the-poem-is-to-turn-it_2077974.png) > “One way of ending the poem is to turn it back on itself, like a serpent with its tail in its mouth.” [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑reference creates a paradox that highlights the poem’s circular nature and the poet’s control over meaning. **In simple terms:** A poem can loop back on itself. Key Takeaway Embrace self‑reflection in writing. Themes poetry self‑reference paradox Mood thoughtful introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - literary analysis - teaching poetry Key Concepts circularity meta‑narrative Questions to Reflect On - How does a circular structure affect reader engagement? - When is self‑reference effective? A Different Perspective May limit emotional depth if overused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Serpent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serpent/) ## Related quotes > [Before our globe had become egg-shaped or round it was a long trail of cosmic dust or fire-mist, moving and writhing like a serpent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manly-hall/before-our-globe-had-become-egg-shaped-or-round-it-was-a-long-trail/) [Manly Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manly-hall/) > [I was taught that poems don't end, they just kind of stop. There's never an ending to a poem; it's a continuation for later.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldlink/i-was-taught-that-poems-don-t-end-they-just-kind-of-stop-there-s/) [Goldlink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldlink/) > [“A single poem, alone can turn tides scatter galaxies and burst forth with rivers from paradise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanober-khan/a-single-poem-alone-can-turn-tides-scatter-galaxies-and-burst-forth/) [Sanober Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanober-khan/) > [An army, like a serpent, travels on its belly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-ii-holy-roman-emperor/an-army-like-a-serpent-travels-on-its-belly/) [Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-ii-holy-roman-emperor/) > [“And love, who can say the way it winds.. like a serpent in the garden of our untroubled minds”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/handler-daniel/and-love-who-can-say-the-way-it-winds-like-a-serpent-in-the-garden-of/) Handler Daniel > [The chain of habit coils itself around the heart like a serpent, to gnaw and stifle it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-chain-of-habit-coils-itself-around-the-heart-like-a-serpent-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Horror is like a serpent; always shedding its skin, always changing. And it will always come back. It can't be hidden away like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dario-argento/horror-is-like-a-serpent-always-shedding-its-skin-always-changing-and/) [Dario Argento](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dario-argento/) > [Envy, the meanest of vices, creeps on the ground like a serpent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/envy-the-meanest-of-vices-creeps-on-the-ground-like-a-serpent/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [An arrow may fly through the air and leave no trace; but an ill thought leaves a trail like a serpent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mackay/an-arrow-may-fly-through-the-air-and-leave-no-trace-but-an-ill/) [Charles Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mackay/) > [As I get older I perceive Life has its tail in its mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/as-i-get-older-i-perceive-life-has-its-tail-in-its-mouth/) [Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/) > [Extremes meet', as the whiting said with its tail in its mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hood/extremes-meet-as-the-whiting-said-with-its-tail-in-its-mouth/) [Thomas Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hood/) > [“The man was right behind her. 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First of all, I think I took my body for granted for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/i-don-t-think-i-ve-ever-felt-terribly-comfortable-writing-about-my/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [The time on either side of now stands fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/the-time-on-either-side-of-now-stands-fast/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [God serves the choosy. They know what to want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/god-serves-the-choosy-they-know-what-to-want/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [And the pond's stillness nippled as if by rain instead is pocked with life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/and-the-pond-s-stillness-nippled-as-if-by-rain-instead-is-pocked-with/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [Women are not supposed to have uteruses, especially in poems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/women-are-not-supposed-to-have-uteruses-especially-in-poems/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [To build is to dwell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/to-build-is-to-dwell/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [... people get confidential at midnight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/people-get-confidential-at-midnight/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [I would not recommend poetry as a career. In the first place, it's impossible in this time and place - in this culture -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/i-would-not-recommend-poetry-as-a-career-in-the-first-place-it-s/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [A lot of people use the dictionary to find out how to spell words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/a-lot-of-people-use-the-dictionary-to-find-out-how-to-spell-words/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [So many poems you go into and come up empty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/so-many-poems-you-go-into-and-come-up-empty/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [It is important to act as if bearing witness matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/it-is-important-to-act-as-if-bearing-witness-matters/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [Everything pays for growing tame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/everything-pays-for-growing-tame/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [When Sleeping Beauty wakes up, she is almost fifty years old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/when-sleeping-beauty-wakes-up-she-is-almost-fifty-years-old/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) [Explore all 41 Maxine Kumin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) ## More Mouths quotes > [But I saw the pain and sadness in everything, and swirled it round my mouth like a fine wine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-forrest/but-i-saw-the-pain-and-sadness-in-everything-and-swirled-it-round-my/) [Emma Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-forrest/) > [I got in trouble my whole life for having a big mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-tyler/i-got-in-trouble-my-whole-life-for-having-a-big-mouth/) [Steven Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-tyler/) > [Divers philosophers hold that the lips is parcel of the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/divers-philosophers-hold-that-the-lips-is-parcel-of-the-mouth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Ninety-eight percent of the things that come out of my mouth are intended to be harmless or even charming. They're not ever intended to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/ninety-eight-percent-of-the-things-that-come-out-of-my-mouth-are/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [I love a lot of things, a whole lot of things / Like / My cousin comes to visit and you know he's from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eloise-greenfield/i-love-a-lot-of-things-a-whole-lot-of-things-like-my-cousin-comes-to/) Eloise Greenfield > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [What we need as Christians is to be able to feed ourselves. How many there are who sit helpless and listless, with open mouths,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-we-need-as-christians-is-to-be-able-to-feed-ourselves-how-many/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As a kid, in the Runaways, I would see the interviewers start to ask about our personal lives and what we did — and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-jett/as-a-kid-in-the-runaways-i-would-see-the-interviewers-start-to-ask/) [Joan Jett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-jett/) > [He put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her full on the mouth. His skin was wet with rain. When she didn't pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/he-put-his-hands-on-her-shoulders-and-kissed-her-full-on-the-mouth/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [Keep the corners of your mouth turned up. Speak in a low, persuasive tone. Listen; be teachable. Laugh at good stories and learn to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/keep-the-corners-of-your-mouth-turned-up-speak-in-a-low-persuasive/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [To all conservative women out there: If you are so sure the embryo needed for stem cell research are precious human life that can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/to-all-conservative-women-out-there-if-you-are-so-sure-the-embryo/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [Wild honey smells of freedom The dust - of sunlight The mouth of a young girl, like a violet But gold - smells of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/wild-honey-smells-of-freedom-the-dust-of-sunlight-the-mouth-of-a/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [Clary screamed out loud as he fell like a stone- And landed lightly on his feet just in front of her. Clary stared with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/clary-screamed-out-loud-as-he-fell-like-a-stone-and-landed-lightly-on/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Hang on, did you just call me Angel?” I asked. “If I did?” “I don’t like it.” He grinned. “It stays. Angel.” He leaned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/hang-on-did-you-just-call-me-angel-i-asked-if-i-did-i-don-t-like-it/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) Browse all 3,141 Mouths quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One way of ending the poem is to turn it back on itself, like a serpent with its tail in its mouth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maxine Kumin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/one-way-of-ending-the-poem-is-to-turn-it-back-on-itself-like-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Mouths" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/one-way-of-ending-the-poem-is-to-turn-it-back-on-itself-like-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/maxine-kumin-16101_mouths_one-way-of-ending-the-poem-is-to-turn-it_2077974.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/maxine-kumin-16101_mouths_one-way-of-ending-the-poem-is-to-turn-it_2077974.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/maxine-kumin-16101_mouths_one-way-of-ending-the-poem-is-to-turn-it_2077974.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One way of ending the poem is to turn it back on itself, like a serpent with its tail in its mouth.” — Maxine Kumin", "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": "Maxine Kumin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One way of ending the poem...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/one-way-of-ending-the-poem-is-to-turn-it-back-on-itself-like-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/one-way-of-ending-the-poem-is-to-turn-it-back-on-itself-like-a/#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 } } ] } ```