--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Take bread away from me, if you wish…" description: "\"“Take bread away from me, if you wish, take air away, but do not take from me your laughter. Do not take away the rose, the lance flower that you pluck..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/pablo-neruda-435_darkest-hour_take-bread-away-from-me-if-you-wish-take_62840.jpg" --- # Take bread away from me, if you wish, take air away, but… ![“Take bread away from me, if you wish, take air away, but do not take from me your laughter. Do not take away the rose, the lance flower that you pluck, the water that suddenly bursts forth in joy, the sudden wave of silver born in you. My struggle is harsh and I come back with eyes tired at times…” quote by Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/pablo-neruda-435_darkest-hour_take-bread-away-from-me-if-you-wish-take_62840.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/pablo-neruda-435_darkest-hour_take-bread-away-from-me-if-you-wish-take_62840.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/pablo-neruda-435_darkest-hour_take-bread-away-from-me-if-you-wish-take_62840.jpg) > ““Take bread away from me, if you wish, take air away, but do not take from me your laughter. Do not take away the rose, the lance flower that you pluck, the water that suddenly bursts forth in joy, the sudden wave of silver born in you. My struggle is harsh and I come back with eyes tired at times from having seen the unchanging earth, but when your laughter enters it rises to the sky seeking me and it opens for me all the doors of life. My love, in the darkest hour your laughter opens, and if suddenly you see my blood staining the stones of the street, laugh, because your laughter will be for my hands like a fresh sword. Next to the sea in the autumn, your laughter must raise its foamy cascade, and in the spring, love, I want your laughter like the flower I was waiting for, the blue flower, the rose of my echoing country. Laugh at the night, at the day, at the moon, laugh at the twisted streets of the island, laugh at this clumsy fool who loves you, but when I open my eyes and close them, when my steps go, when my steps return, deny me bread, air, light, spring, but never your laughter. ”” [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poet declares laughter as essential as life itself, a sustaining force that transcends material needs and hardships. **In simple terms:** Laughter is vital beyond physical sustenance. Key Takeaway Laughter fuels resilience. Themes resilience joy love spiritual sustenance nature Mood hopeful passionate defiant Type poetic philosophical romantic When to use this quote - facing adversity - seeking comfort in relationships - celebrating love - enduring hardship Key Concepts human spirit emotional nourishment nature imagery Practical Applications - using humor to cope with challenges - expressing love through shared laughter Questions to Reflect On - How does humor alter perception of suffering? - What role does shared laughter play in deepening bonds? A Different Perspective null ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkest hour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkest-hour/) [Laughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughter/) ## Related quotes > [“Love. 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The fuzzy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/that-s-what-it-is-that-s-what-my-morning-was-like-all-these-real/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [You didn't have to wash it as often and it hid the blood stains better!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adriano-directo-emperado/you-didn-t-have-to-wash-it-as-often-and-it-hid-the-blood-stains-better/) Adriano Directo Emperado > [I did not know that history is like a blood stain that keeps on showing on the wall no matter how many new owners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/i-did-not-know-that-history-is-like-a-blood-stain-that-keeps-on/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) > [“Black goes with everything, especially blood stains.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-khaw/black-goes-with-everything-especially-blood-stains/) Cassandra Khaw ## More by Pablo Neruda > [For me writing is like breathing. I could not live without breathing and I could not live without writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/for-me-writing-is-like-breathing-i-could-not-live-without-breathing/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [Our love was born outside the walls, in the wind, in the night, in the earth, and that's why the clay and the flower,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/our-love-was-born-outside-the-walls-in-the-wind-in-the-night-in-the/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“I remember only a day that was perhaps never intended for me, it was an incessant day, without origins, Thursday. 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Love is so short, forgetting is so long.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/i-am-no-longer-in-love-with-her-that-s-certain-but-maybe-i-love-her/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“Body of a woman, white hills, white thighs, you look like a world, lying in surrender.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/body-of-a-woman-white-hills-white-thighs-you-look-like-a-world-lying-2/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“ I Like For You To Be Still I like for you to be still It is as though you are absent And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/i-like-for-you-to-be-still-i-like-for-you-to-be-still-it-is-as-though/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“Tonight I Can Write”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/tonight-i-can-write/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“Like a jar you housed infinite tenderness And the infinite tenderness shattered you like a jar.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/like-a-jar-you-housed-infinite-tenderness-and-the-infinite-tenderness/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) [Explore all 457 Pablo Neruda quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) ## More Darkest hour quotes > [No matter where are you going to be in your darkest hours or days in life, remember ; I will find you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewshy/no-matter-where-are-you-going-to-be-in-your-darkest-hours-or-days-in/) Ewshy > [I think for most Americans, knowledge of the Islamic world was pretty slight before 9/11, and then it was thrust upon us in one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-campbell/i-think-for-most-americans-knowledge-of-the-islamic-world-was-pretty/) [Thomas P. Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-campbell/) > [“Chaotic Of Echoes The Lands Darkest Hours Of Lions Architect the Garlots of War The Precognitions”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-ballantine/chaotic-of-echoes-the-lands-darkest-hours-of-lions-architect-the/) [Philippa Ballantine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-ballantine/) > [Extraordinary event can easily happen to us , things like miracle in the darkest hours of our life If we can be patient and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola-http-wwwamoreloveforlifecom/extraordinary-event-can-easily-happen-to-us-things-like-miracle-in/) Kemmy Nola Http://wwwamoreloveforlifecom > [Most people want to be the sun that brightens up your life, but I'd rather be the moon that shines down on you in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/most-people-want-to-be-the-sun-that-brightens-up-your-life-but-i-d/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The darkest hour was just before dawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-darkest-hour-was-just-before-dawn/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Nobody looks good in their darkest hour. But it's those hours that make us what we are. We stand strong, or we cower. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/nobody-looks-good-in-their-darkest-hour-but-it-s-those-hours-that/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Through the darkest paths, you can reach the brightest heavens and this marvellous possibility will keep you full of life even in the middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/through-the-darkest-paths-you-can-reach-the-brightest-heavens-and/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“For I had loved Seid even in his darkest hours, even as he cursed me and we rode upon a fine line between ardor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-silverwood/for-i-had-loved-seid-even-in-his-darkest-hours-even-as-he-cursed-me/) [Jennifer Silverwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-silverwood/) > [“Hope is that tiny light that the gods have given us so that we can find our way through our darkest hours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/hope-is-that-tiny-light-that-the-gods-have-given-us-so-that-we-can/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“I said, "Jesse, don't flatter yourself that I did this for you. 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But its those hours that make us what we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/superman/nobody-looks-good-in-their-darkest-hours-but-its-those-hours-that/) Superman > [Fake friends are like shadows: always near you at your brightest moments, but nowhere to be seen at your darkest hour True friends are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/habeeb-akande/fake-friends-are-like-shadows-always-near-you-at-your-brightest/) [Habeeb Akande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/habeeb-akande/) > [Kill her for me," she said in that whiny little-girl voice. 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My love, in the darkest hour your laughter opens, and if suddenly you see my blood staining the stones of the street, laugh, because your laughter will be for my hands like a fresh sword. Next to the sea in the autumn, your laughter must raise its foamy cascade, and in the spring, love, I want your laughter like the flower I was waiting for, the blue flower, the rose of my echoing country. Laugh at the night, at the day, at the moon, laugh at the twisted streets of the island, laugh at this clumsy fool who loves you, but when I open my eyes and close them, when my steps go, when my steps return, deny me bread, air, light, spring, but never your laughter. ”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pablo Neruda" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/take-bread-away-from-me-if-you-wish-take-air-away-but-do-not-take/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Darkest hour" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/take-bread-away-from-me-if-you-wish-take-air-away-but-do-not-take/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/pablo-neruda-435_darkest-hour_take-bread-away-from-me-if-you-wish-take_62840.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/pablo-neruda-435_darkest-hour_take-bread-away-from-me-if-you-wish-take_62840.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/pablo-neruda-435_darkest-hour_take-bread-away-from-me-if-you-wish-take_62840.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Take bread away from me, if you wish, take air away, but do not take from me your laughter. 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