--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Had I known that the heart breaks slowly…" description: "\"Had I known that the heart breaks slowly, dismantling itself into unrecognizable plots of misery... had I known yet I would have loved you, your brash ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/maya-angelou-104_beauty_had-i-known-that-the-heart-breaks-slowly_2921144.png" --- # Had I known that the heart breaks slowly, dismantling… ![“Had I known that the heart breaks slowly, dismantling itself into unrecognizable plots of misery... had I known yet I would have loved you, your brash and insolent beauty, your heavy comedic face and knowledge of sweet delights, but from a distance I would have left you whole and wholly for the…” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/maya-angelou-104_beauty_had-i-known-that-the-heart-breaks-slowly_2921144.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/maya-angelou-104_beauty_had-i-known-that-the-heart-breaks-slowly_2921144.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/maya-angelou-104_beauty_had-i-known-that-the-heart-breaks-slowly_2921144.png) > “Had I known that the heart breaks slowly, dismantling itself into unrecognizable plots of misery... had I known yet I would have loved you, your brash and insolent beauty, your heavy comedic face and knowledge of sweet delights, but from a distance I would have left you whole and wholly for the delectation of those who wanted more and cared less.” [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Heartbreak is gradual, and love’s beauty can be both alluring and destructive, suggesting distance may protect wholeness. **In simple terms:** Heartbreak slowly destroys; distance can preserve. Key Takeaway Recognize destructive love, protect self. Themes love heartbreak self‑preservation Mood sad reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - relationship counseling - personal healing - creative writing - mental health Key Concepts psychology relationships beauty Questions to Reflect On - When is distance healthier than intimacy? - How do you balance love’s allure with self‑care? A Different Perspective May idealize pain as artistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) [Comedic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedic/) [Delight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delight/) [Distance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distance/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-break/) [Heart breaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-breaks/) [Heavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heavy/) [Known Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known-heart-3080220/) [Known Loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known-loved-1164224/) [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) [Misery Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery-known-4257249/) [Plot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plot/) [Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweet/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) ## Related quotes > [Tendulkar must have known from his heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-dravid/tendulkar-must-have-known-from-his-heart/) [Rahul Dravid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-dravid/) > [I've always known in my heart that Beats belonged with Apple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-iovine/i-ve-always-known-in-my-heart-that-beats-belonged-with-apple/) [Jimmy Iovine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-iovine/) > [“The Divine Voice is not always expressed in words. 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Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-russell/) > [Each has his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by heart and his friends can only read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/each-has-his-past-shut-in-him-like-the-leaves-of-a-book-known-to-him/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“I can’t take you on this journey, and that we’ve always known, but in my heart I know you have the strength to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-desalvo/i-can-t-take-you-on-this-journey-and-that-we-ve-always-known-but-in/) [Kim DeSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-desalvo/) > [When I look at certain aspects of popular culture - not everything because I like a lot of things - sometimes my heart breaks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-williams/when-i-look-at-certain-aspects-of-popular-culture-not-everything/) [Saul Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-williams/) > [Give your heart a break, not a heartbreak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna18/give-your-heart-a-break-not-a-heartbreak/) [Julianna18](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna18/) > [But what if music is what escapes when a heart breaks?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jandy-nelson/but-what-if-music-is-what-escapes-when-a-heart-breaks/) [Jandy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jandy-nelson/) > [Each person's heart breaks in it's own way. 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Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-is-going-to-give-you-just-what-you-put-in-it-put-your-whole/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-more-you-know-of-your-history-the-more-liberated-you-are/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-offers-us-tickets-to-places-which-we-have-not-knowingly-asked-for/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) [Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. 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When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. 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