--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have heard what poets write about…" description: "\"I have heard what poets write about women. They rhyme and rhapsodize and lie. I have watched sailors on the shore stare mutely at the slow-rolling swel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c4/patrick-rothfuss-145_color_i-have-heard-what-poets-write-about-wome_978020.jpg" --- # I have heard what poets write about women. They rhyme and… ![“I have heard what poets write about women. They rhyme and rhapsodize and lie. I have watched sailors on the shore stare mutely at the slow-rolling swell of the sea. I have watched old soldiers with hearts like leather grow teary-eyed at their king's colors stretched against the wind. Listen to me…” quote by Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c4/patrick-rothfuss-145_color_i-have-heard-what-poets-write-about-wome_978020.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c4/patrick-rothfuss-145_color_i-have-heard-what-poets-write-about-wome_978020.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c4/patrick-rothfuss-145_color_i-have-heard-what-poets-write-about-wome_978020.jpg) > “I have heard what poets write about women. They rhyme and rhapsodize and lie. I have watched sailors on the shore stare mutely at the slow-rolling swell of the sea. I have watched old soldiers with hearts like leather grow teary-eyed at their king's colors stretched against the wind. Listen to me: these men know nothing of love. You will not find it in the words of poets or the longing eyes of sailors. If you want to know of love, look to a trouper's hands as he makes his music. A trouper knows.” [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love is best understood through lived experience and honest effort, not through poetic idealizations or distant observers. **In simple terms:** Love is learned by doing, not just reading about it. Key Takeaway Seek authentic connections rather than romanticized ideas. Themes love experience authenticity Mood reflective skeptical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - relationships - artistic creation - military life - personal growth Key Concepts human connection skepticism realism Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate genuine love from idealized versions? - What actions demonstrate love for you? A Different Perspective Romantic poetry can mislead expectations about love. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard/) [Heard Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard-poets-1921662/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Leather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leather/) [Listen to me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listen-to-me/) [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-you/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets/) [Poets Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets-longing-1921661/) [Poets Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets-write-390395/) [Rhyme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhyme/) [Rolling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rolling/) [Sailor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sailor/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Shore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shore/) [Soldier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soldier/) [Staring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staring/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wind/) [Words Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-poets-991265/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“I have heard what poets write about women. They rhyme and rhapsodize and lie. I have watched old sailors on the shore stare mutely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-have-heard-what-poets-write-about-women-they-rhyme-and-rhapsodize/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [When we first meet what we love, we could become poets for our longing. When we are removed from what we love, we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-prechtel/when-we-first-meet-what-we-love-we-could-become-poets-for-our-longing/) [Martin Prechtel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-prechtel/) > [Alone!-that worn-out word, So idly spoken, and so coldly heard; Yet all that poets sing and grief hath known Of hopes laid waste, knells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/alone-that-worn-out-word-so-idly-spoken-and-so-coldly-heard-yet-all/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [How can I find the words? Poets have taken them all and left me with nothing to say or do" "Except to teach me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/how-can-i-find-the-words-poets-have-taken-them-all-and-left-me-with/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Many are the noble words in which poets speak concerning the actions of men; but like yourself when speaking about Homer, they do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/many-are-the-noble-words-in-which-poets-speak-concerning-the-actions/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“I believe in being a poet in all moments of life. Being a poet means being human. I know some poets whose daily behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forough-farrokhzad/i-believe-in-being-a-poet-in-all-moments-of-life-being-a-poet-means/) [Forough Farrokhzad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forough-farrokhzad/) > [“But more importantly, know I love you more than I can say with simple words. 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What lives in the salt?” Trace minerals, I thought.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/auri-took-it-and-peered-inside-the-small-leather-sack-why-this-is/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Critics write out of intellectual exercise, not poets. Poets write straight from the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/critics-write-out-of-intellectual-exercise-not-poets-poets-write/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [All poets write bad poetry. 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There are some poets who write for people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/i-usually-write-for-the-individual-reader-though-i-would-like-to-have/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) ## More by Patrick Rothfuss > [Each woman is like an instrument, waiting to be learned, loved, and finely played, to have at last her own true music made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/each-woman-is-like-an-instrument-waiting-to-be-learned-loved-and/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. 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(paraphrased)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/the-point-isn-t-to-win-the-game-the-point-is-to-play-a-beautiful-game/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I was nervous about writing Slow Regard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-was-nervous-about-writing-slow-regard/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I am no poet. I do not love words for the sake of words. I love words for what they can accomplish. Similarly, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-am-no-poet-i-do-not-love-words-for-the-sake-of-words-i-love-words/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“There is something deeply satisfying in shaping something with your hands. Proper artificing is like a song made solid. 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I lived for most of my adult life living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-was-pretty-poor-for-a-long-time-not-poor-poor-but-college-student/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) [Explore all 895 Patrick Rothfuss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) ## More Color quotes > [We never really perceive what color is physically!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-is-physically/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [The color of somebody's skin or the way he wears his hair or clothes has nothing to do with anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-color-of-somebody-s-skin-or-the-way-he-wears-his-hair-or-clothes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ['Lovecraft Country' is reclaiming all these pulp genres for people of color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha-green/lovecraft-country-is-reclaiming-all-these-pulp-genres-for-people-of/) [Misha Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha-green/) > [When I haven't any blue I use red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-i-haven-t-any-blue-i-use-red/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [A well-fashioned day - with a beginning and an end, a purpose and a content, a color and a character, a feel and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/a-well-fashioned-day-with-a-beginning-and-an-end-a-purpose-and-a/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. 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