--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we’re going to solve the problems of…" description: "\"If we’re going to solve the problems of the world, we have to learn how to talk to one another. Poetry is the language at its essence. It’s the bones a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/rita-dove-4855_bones_if-we-re-going-to-solve-the-problems-of_1036254.jpg" --- # If we’re going to solve the problems of the world, we have… ![“If we’re going to solve the problems of the world, we have to learn how to talk to one another. Poetry is the language at its essence. It’s the bones and the skeleton of the language. It teaches you, if nothing else, how to choose your words.” quote by Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/rita-dove-4855_bones_if-we-re-going-to-solve-the-problems-of_1036254.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/rita-dove-4855_bones_if-we-re-going-to-solve-the-problems-of_1036254.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/rita-dove-4855_bones_if-we-re-going-to-solve-the-problems-of_1036254.jpg) > “If we’re going to solve the problems of the world, we have to learn how to talk to one another. Poetry is the language at its essence. It’s the bones and the skeleton of the language. It teaches you, if nothing else, how to choose your words.” [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective communication requires poetic precision; words must be chosen carefully. **In simple terms:** Choose words wisely, like poetry. Key Takeaway Practice deliberate, thoughtful speech. Themes communication poetry language Mood reflective educational Type literary practical When to use this quote - public speaking - writing - conflict resolution Key Concepts rhetoric precision Questions to Reflect On - How can poetic language improve everyday dialogue? - When is precise language most critical? A Different Perspective It may romanticize language, ignoring practical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bones/) [Choose Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choose-words/) [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Language Teaches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language-teaches-1011241/) [Learn Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn-talk-554633/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-is/) [Poetry Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-language/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Skeletons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skeletons/) [Solve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solve/) [Talk Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-poetry-787482/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Man does not exist prior to language, either as a species or as an individual. 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It is only necessary for us to know what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/what-i-have-lately-said-of-painting-is-equally-true-with-respect-to/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [We must learn to talk with each other, and we mutually must understand and accept one another in our extraordinary differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/we-must-learn-to-talk-with-each-other-and-we-mutually-must-understand/) [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) > [If you ever want to be intimate with a women, you need to learn how to talk to her like shes a women. and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-ever-want-to-be-intimate-with-a-women-you-need-to-learn-how-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Talk Back? That's really what it's called? You're supposed to walk into some church basement and say, 'I'm here to learn how to Talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-gilbert-murdock/talk-back-that-s-really-what-it-s-called-you-re-supposed-to-walk-into/) [Catherine Gilbert Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-gilbert-murdock/) ## More by Rita Dove > [I think children have talent and insight, but it gets beaten out of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-think-children-have-talent-and-insight-but-it-gets-beaten-out-of/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Courage has nothing to do with our determination to be great. It has to do with what we decide in that moment when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/courage-has-nothing-to-do-with-our-determination-to-be-great-it-has/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Libraries are where it all begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/libraries-are-where-it-all-begins/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [My inspiration comes from everywhere, just walking down the street and I never know where it's going to come from, so I keep a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/my-inspiration-comes-from-everywhere-just-walking-down-the-street-and/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [To write for PC reasons, because you think you ought to be dealing with this subject, is never going to yield anything that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/to-write-for-pc-reasons-because-you-think-you-ought-to-be-dealing/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. 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The rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/there-are-distinct-duties-of-a-poet-laureate-i-plan-a-reading-series/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [My first advice would be to read, read, read, which sounds interesting coming in a digital age, but it's so much easier to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/my-first-advice-would-be-to-read-read-read-which-sounds-interesting/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [To me, a poem is almost like someone whispering to another person, or you hear the whispering in your head. I hope with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/to-me-a-poem-is-almost-like-someone-whispering-to-another-person-or/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [I was not interested in doing the plot of OEDIPUS in blackface. 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The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“We are preaching hope, standing on the bones of the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rucyahana/we-are-preaching-hope-standing-on-the-bones-of-the-past/) [John Rucyahana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rucyahana/) > [Men are fair, and they have learned not to personalize anger - they can disagree with you and argue to the bone, but afterward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/men-are-fair-and-they-have-learned-not-to-personalize-anger-they-can/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. I think I used four boxes of Soilex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dahmer/i-separated-the-joints-the-arm-joints-the-leg-joints-and-had-to-do/) [Jeffrey Dahmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dahmer/) > [Flesh forgets. Bone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-bass/flesh-forgets-bone-remembers/) [Jefferson Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-bass/) > [One of my favorite poets, Neruda, writes close to the bone. Though I know only a little Spanish, I like to compare the Spanish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-diament/one-of-my-favorite-poets-neruda-writes-close-to-the-bone-though-i/) [Anita Diament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-diament/) > [Death and burial were a public spectacle. 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