--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The ghosts swarm. They speak as one…" description: "\"The ghosts swarm. They speak as one person. Each has left something undone.\" — Rae Armantrout" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/rae-armantrout-15496_ghost_the-ghosts-swarm-they-speak-as-one-perso_341668.png" --- # The ghosts swarm. They speak as one person. Each has left… ![“The ghosts swarm. They speak as one person. Each has left something undone.” quote by Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/rae-armantrout-15496_ghost_the-ghosts-swarm-they-speak-as-one-perso_341668.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/rae-armantrout-15496_ghost_the-ghosts-swarm-they-speak-as-one-perso_341668.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/rae-armantrout-15496_ghost_the-ghosts-swarm-they-speak-as-one-perso_341668.png) > “The ghosts swarm. They speak as one person. Each has left something undone.” [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Collective voices of unresolved tasks haunt us, urging completion. **In simple terms:** Unfinished matters linger together. Key Takeaway Address lingering tasks. Themes unfinishedness collective voice remorse Mood reflective somber Type poetic contemplative When to use this quote - personal projects - team deadlines - grief processing Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What unfinished task haunts you? - How can shared effort resolve it? A Different Perspective May overlook the value of rest. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost/) [Ghosts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghosts/) [Ghosts Swarm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghosts-swarm-3174946/) [Left Undone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-undone-1029574/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Swarm Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swarm-speak-3174947/) [Undone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undone/) ## Related quotes > [Look not to the faults of others, nor to their omissions and commissions. But rather look to your own acts, to what you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/look-not-to-the-faults-of-others-nor-to-their-omissions-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's plain to see we're over. And I hate when things are over-so much is left undone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arab-proverb/it-s-plain-to-see-we-re-over-and-i-hate-when-things-are-over-so-much/) [Arab Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arab-proverb/) > [A wrongdoer is often a man who has left something undone, not always one who has done something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/a-wrongdoer-is-often-a-man-who-has-left-something-undone-not-always/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [the touchstone of a free act - from the decision to get out of bed in the morning or take a walk in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-touchstone-of-a-free-act-from-the-decision-to-get-out-of-bed-in/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Positive words left unsaid are like sachets of currency notes burnt in vain. Positive deeds left undone are like deep wells filled with soil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positive-words-left-unsaid-are-like-sachets-of-currency-notes-burnt/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-nothing-is-done-nothing-is-left-undone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There were so many of us who would have to live with things done and things left undone that day. Things that did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-were-so-many-of-us-who-would-have-to-live-with-things-done-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As so often happens, the thing left undone tires you most of all, you only feel rested when it has been accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/as-so-often-happens-the-thing-left-undone-tires-you-most-of-all-you/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [The wrongdoer is often the person who left something undone, rather than the person who has done something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-wrongdoer-is-often-the-person-who-left-something-undone-rather/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [All of life like a series of tableaux, and in the living we missed so much, hid so much, left so much undone and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/all-of-life-like-a-series-of-tableaux-and-in-the-living-we-missed-so/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/only-put-off-until-tomorrow-what-you-are-willing-to-die-having-left/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Focusnot on the rudeness of others,not on what they've done or left undone,but on what you have done and have not doneyourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/focusnot-on-the-rudeness-of-others-not-on-what-they-ve-done-or-left/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Words and deeds are far from being one. Much that is talked about is left undone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/words-and-deeds-are-far-from-being-one-much-that-is-talked-about-is/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [“What's left undone today, tomorrow will not do." Faust”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goethe/what-s-left-undone-today-tomorrow-will-not-do-faust/) [Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goethe/) > [The Way is ever without action, yet nothing is left undone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-way-is-ever-without-action-yet-nothing-is-left-undone/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) ## More by Rae Armantrout > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [“this route is only one of several imaginary paths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/this-route-is-only-one-of-several-imaginary-paths/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [“To reinvent anomalous figments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/to-reinvent-anomalous-figments/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [I know you by your willingness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-know-you-by-your-willingness/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [People probably long for something genuinely personal in a society where the personal is often indistinguishable from the "personalized." Maybe the poetry audience member…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/people-probably-long-for-something-genuinely-personal-in-a-society/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [“The jacaranda, for instance, is beautiful but not serious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/the-jacaranda-for-instance-is-beautiful-but-not-serious/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [Like most of my poems, 'Lie' has several sources: I read a very troubling book called The Sixth Extinction. I took note of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/like-most-of-my-poems-lie-has-several-sources-i-read-a-very-troubling/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [Poets tend to form loose groups - the "Romantics" or the "Imagists". And sometimes they write manifestoes in the name of these groups. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/poets-tend-to-form-loose-groups-the-romantics-or-the-imagists-and/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [“Evening succeeds evening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/evening-succeeds-evening/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [Metaphor is ritual sacrifice. It kills the look-alike. No, metaphor is homeopathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/metaphor-is-ritual-sacrifice-it-kills-the-look-alike-no-metaphor-is/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [Carried by light, images remain while sensation is so evanescent as to be always beyond belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/carried-by-light-images-remain-while-sensation-is-so-evanescent-as-to/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [“The feeling of emptiness is a pre-existing condition. Jargon forces intimacy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/the-feeling-of-emptiness-is-a-pre-existing-condition-jargon-forces/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [Like all my poems, 'Negotiations' has several sources. It deals with aging lovers and the often silent deals they make. Thinking about bargains made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/like-all-my-poems-negotiations-has-several-sources-it-deals-with/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [clarity need not be equivalent to / readability. How readable is the world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/clarity-need-not-be-equivalent-to-readability-how-readable-is-the/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [I tend to like the way poets form communities. Writing can be lonely after all. Modern life can be lonely. Poets do seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-tend-to-like-the-way-poets-form-communities-writing-can-be-lonely/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) [Explore all 43 Rae Armantrout quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) ## More Ghost quotes > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [I was overcome by the Holy Ghost one time, but in a Baptist way. I was six or seven, and I was saved. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ditto/i-was-overcome-by-the-holy-ghost-one-time-but-in-a-baptist-way-i-was/) [Beth Ditto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ditto/) > [Nice is a city of ghosts and specters, but I hope not to become one of them right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/nice-is-a-city-of-ghosts-and-specters-but-i-hope-not-to-become-one-of/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [“Who is this ghost ordered into music?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuko-shiraishi/who-is-this-ghost-ordered-into-music/) [Kazuko Shiraishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuko-shiraishi/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Maybe I could be friends with a ghost. I wouldn’t be able to kill him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/maybe-i-could-be-friends-with-a-ghost-i-wouldn-t-be-able-to-kill-him/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [I love ghost stories, I love to read them, and I love the idea of being haunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micah-perks/i-love-ghost-stories-i-love-to-read-them-and-i-love-the-idea-of-being/) [Micah Perks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micah-perks/) > [The Holy Ghost is the greatest guarantor of inward peace in our unstable world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-faust/the-holy-ghost-is-the-greatest-guarantor-of-inward-peace-in-our/) [James E. Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-faust/) > [I saw the gooseflesh on my skin. I did not know what made it. I was not cold. Had a ghost passed over? No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-saw-the-gooseflesh-on-my-skin-i-did-not-know-what-made-it-i-was-not/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [She knows not loves that kissed her She knows not where. Art thou the ghost, my sister, White sister there, Am I the ghost,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-charles-swinburne/she-knows-not-loves-that-kissed-her-she-knows-not-where-art-thou-the/) [Algernon Charles Swinburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-charles-swinburne/) > [Pity the planet, all joy gone from this sweet volcanic cone; peace to our children when they fall in small war on the heel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/pity-the-planet-all-joy-gone-from-this-sweet-volcanic-cone-peace-to/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [What the Church needs to-day is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-the-church-needs-to-day-is-not-more-machinery-or-better-not-new/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do I believe in ghosts?...I am prepared to consider evidence and accept it if it satisfies me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-r-james/do-i-believe-in-ghosts-i-am-prepared-to-consider-evidence-and-accept/) [M. R. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-r-james/) > [Just live that life. It doesn't matter whether it is life or hell, life of the hungry ghost, life of the animal, it's okay;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taizan-maezumi/just-live-that-life-it-doesn-t-matter-whether-it-is-life-or-hell-life/) [Taizan Maezumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taizan-maezumi/) [Browse all 2,175 Ghost quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The ghosts swarm. They speak as one person. 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