--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They wrote to me and said something about…" description: "\"“They wrote to me and said something about it, and I said that if it doesn't involve any work, I'll do it. (On being named Minnesota's first Poet Laure..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01b/robert-bly-3269_apathy_they-wrote-to-me-and-said-something-abou_3022192.png" --- # They wrote to me and said something about it, and I said… ![“They wrote to me and said something about it, and I said that if it doesn't involve any work, I'll do it. (On being named Minnesota's first Poet Laureate)” quote by Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01b/robert-bly-3269_apathy_they-wrote-to-me-and-said-something-abou_3022192.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01b/robert-bly-3269_apathy_they-wrote-to-me-and-said-something-abou_3022192.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01b/robert-bly-3269_apathy_they-wrote-to-me-and-said-something-abou_3022192.png) > ““They wrote to me and said something about it, and I said that if it doesn't involve any work, I'll do it. (On being named Minnesota's first Poet Laureate)”” [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) ## 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 offers to help with any task that requires no effort, highlighting a willingness to contribute even in trivial ways. **In simple terms:** He’s ready to do any easy work. Key Takeaway Offer assistance when you can, even for small tasks. Themes service humor poetry community engagement Mood lighthearted encouraging Type civic poetic When to use this quote - volunteer events - local arts projects - office assistance Key Concepts civic responsibility creative expression Questions to Reflect On - When is it appropriate to say “yes” to easy tasks? - How can you balance helpfulness with personal boundaries? A Different Perspective Such offers may overlook the value of meaningful work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apathy/) [Minnesota Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minnesota-poet-4897240/) [Named Minnesota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/named-minnesota-4897241/) [Poet Laureate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet-laureate-301823/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote/) [Wrote Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote-said-1018308/) ## Related quotes > [Somebody, after all, had to make a start. What we wrote and said is also believed by many others. They just don't dare express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-scholl/somebody-after-all-had-to-make-a-start-what-we-wrote-and-said-is-also/) [Sophie Scholl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-scholl/) > [I didn't write this song. Someone was talking in a room. I just wrote down everything they said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-ament/i-didn-t-write-this-song-someone-was-talking-in-a-room-i-just-wrote/) [Jeff Ament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-ament/) > [I've written on public matters, but I don't understand how anyone could tout me as a possible poet laureate when I wrote a poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-harrison/i-ve-written-on-public-matters-but-i-don-t-understand-how-anyone/) [Tony Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-harrison/) > [It is a tremendous honor to be named poet laureate, but one that I find humbling as well, because it's the kind of thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethewey/it-is-a-tremendous-honor-to-be-named-poet-laureate-but-one-that-i/) [Natasha Trethewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethewey/) > [The poet laureate of England talked about murdering Jews on the West Bank.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-t-katz/the-poet-laureate-of-england-talked-about-murdering-jews-on-the-west/) [Steven T. Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-t-katz/) > [Ted Hughes has been appointed poet laureate to succeed Sir John Betjeman, which is a bit like appointing a grim young crow to replace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-howard-20th-earl-of-arundel/ted-hughes-has-been-appointed-poet-laureate-to-succeed-sir-john/) [Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-howard-20th-earl-of-arundel/) > [If you would get money as a writer or lecturer, you must be popular, which is to go down perpendicularly… You are paid for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-you-would-get-money-as-a-writer-or-lecturer-you-must-be-popular/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm a student at Harvard University, and currently work as the United States Youth Poet Laureate, a community organizer, and an activist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-gorman/i-m-a-student-at-harvard-university-and-currently-work-as-the-united/) [Amanda Gorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-gorman/) > [“You know what I love about you? You can go from cussing sailor to poet laureate in three seconds without batting an eyelash. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgina-guthrie/you-know-what-i-love-about-you-you-can-go-from-cussing-sailor-to-poet/) [Georgina Guthrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgina-guthrie/) > [Being Poet Laureate made me realize I was capable of a larger voice. There is a more public utterance I can make as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/being-poet-laureate-made-me-realize-i-was-capable-of-a-larger-voice/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the Library of Congress and advise the librarian. 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/) > [People write me from all over the country, asking me, and sometimes even telling me, what they think a poet laureate should do. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/people-write-me-from-all-over-the-country-asking-me-and-sometimes/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [I certainly was surprised to be named Poet Laureate of this far-out city on the left side of the world, and I gratefully accept,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/i-certainly-was-surprised-to-be-named-poet-laureate-of-this-far-out/) [Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/) > [As poet laureate, I was asked to be a spokesman for literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/as-poet-laureate-i-was-asked-to-be-a-spokesman-for-literature/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [“So I don’t think I’ll make Poet Laureate, but I swear I’m not twisted and bitter, If finely-wrought talents don’t weigh in the balance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosy-cole/so-i-don-t-think-i-ll-make-poet-laureate-but-i-swear-i-m-not-twisted/) [Rosy Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosy-cole/) ## More by Robert Bly > [I use the phrase 'sibling society' to suggest a culture fundamentally without fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, or ancestors. The thinking is horizontal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/i-use-the-phrase-sibling-society-to-suggest-a-culture-fundamentally/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [All of Japan once a year will get up on their rooftops, because that's the night that the shepherd boy from one side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/all-of-japan-once-a-year-will-get-up-on-their-rooftops-because-that-s/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [I got about half the time I wanted to write poetry. I got about half the time I needed to be a father. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/i-got-about-half-the-time-i-wanted-to-write-poetry-i-got-about-half/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Every noon as the clock hands arrive at twelve, I want to tie the two arms together, And walk out of the bank carrying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/every-noon-as-the-clock-hands-arrive-at-twelve-i-want-to-tie-the-two/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Rumi is astounding, fertile, abundant, almost more an excitable library of poetry than a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/rumi-is-astounding-fertile-abundant-almost-more-an-excitable-library/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [One could say the higher the spirit goes, the more deeply the soul sinks down into the waters of melancholy and tragedy. Drowning in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/one-could-say-the-higher-the-spirit-goes-the-more-deeply-the-soul/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Don't go outside your house to see flowers. My friend, don't bother with that excursion. Inside your body there are flowers. One flower has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/don-t-go-outside-your-house-to-see-flowers-my-friend-don-t-bother/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [The models of adulthood are disappearing fast. How can two people have a new marriage if neither of them is an adult?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/the-models-of-adulthood-are-disappearing-fast-how-can-two-people-have/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [I have spent many years trying to recover a common language, one that can cross the distance between people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/i-have-spent-many-years-trying-to-recover-a-common-language-one-that/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [One out of three black men are in the criminal justice system in some form. Their despair is beginning to resonate through the entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/one-out-of-three-black-men-are-in-the-criminal-justice-system-in-some/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Sociological prose is generally written without images in an exact form for an academic audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/sociological-prose-is-generally-written-without-images-in-an-exact/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [We spend our life until we’re twenty deciding what parts of ourself to put into the bag, and we spend the rest of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/we-spend-our-life-until-we-re-twenty-deciding-what-parts-of-ourself/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Every modern male has, lying at the bottom of his psyche, a large, primitive being covered with hair down to his feet. Making contact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/every-modern-male-has-lying-at-the-bottom-of-his-psyche-a-large/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [My feeling is that poetry is also a healing process, and then when a person tries to write poetry with depth or beauty, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/my-feeling-is-that-poetry-is-also-a-healing-process-and-then-when-a/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [The ancestors are very much invested in the children, because the children are the ones who are going to continue the world that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/the-ancestors-are-very-much-invested-in-the-children-because-the/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) [Explore all 135 Robert Bly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) ## More Apathy quotes > [If possible, I want to hear POLITICS defined without either sympathy or apathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/if-possible-i-want-to-hear-politics-defined-without-either-sympathy/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [One response was given by the innkeeper when Mary and Joseph wanted to find a room where the Child could be born. The innkeeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/one-response-was-given-by-the-innkeeper-when-mary-and-joseph-wanted/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Try to greet troubles with apathy. Hello's are never what they used to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-swellers/try-to-greet-troubles-with-apathy-hello-s-are-never-what-they-used-to/) [The Swellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-swellers/) > [Apathy can be overcome by enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/apathy-can-be-overcome-by-enthusiasm/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [Indifference must be a crime in us, to be ranked but one degree below treachery; for deserting the commonwealth is next to betraying it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/indifference-must-be-a-crime-in-us-to-be-ranked-but-one-degree-below/) [Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/) > [Insect politics, indifferent universe. Bang your head against the wall, but apathy is worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-henley/insect-politics-indifferent-universe-bang-your-head-against-the-wall/) [Don Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-henley/) > [“And there's a freedom in apathy, a wild, dizzying liberation on which you can almost get drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/and-there-s-a-freedom-in-apathy-a-wild-dizzying-liberation-on-which/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [For he who is not deaf, half a silence is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/for-he-who-is-not-deaf-half-a-silence-is-enough/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [“Just because a person is silent doesn’t mean there’s no message.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/just-because-a-person-is-silent-doesn-t-mean-there-s-no-message/) [Frank Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sonnenberg/) > [“If someone with a high level of authority were to ask me, "Suzy, how can we make people so incredibly stupid and apathetic, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/if-someone-with-a-high-level-of-authority-were-to-ask-me-suzy-how-can/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“It takes more than one kick in the pants to reverse a lifetime of unplanned apathy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-neilan/it-takes-more-than-one-kick-in-the-pants-to-reverse-a-lifetime-of/) [Paul Neilan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-neilan/) > [“Use the apathy of your logic to solve your problems and then the passion of your soul to enjoy life after that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelos-michalopoulos/use-the-apathy-of-your-logic-to-solve-your-problems-and-then-the/) [Angelos Michalopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelos-michalopoulos/) > [“The fundamental basis by which the court’s decision might be made is, in itself, imperfect and subject to contradictions. There is very little consideration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/the-fundamental-basis-by-which-the-court-s-decision-might-be-made-is/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [“The young woman had read a good many novels, and she had seen a good many films; this education by newspaper, serial and film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-renard/the-young-woman-had-read-a-good-many-novels-and-she-had-seen-a-good/) [Maurice Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-renard/) > [Mourn not the dead that in the cool earth lie... But rather mourn the apathetic throng - The cowed and the meek - Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-chaplin/mourn-not-the-dead-that-in-the-cool-earth-lie-but-rather-mourn-the/) [Ralph Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-chaplin/) [Browse all 619 Apathy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apathy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They wrote to me and said something about it, and I said that if it doesn't involve any work, I'll do it. 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