---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poetry's medium is not merely light as…"
description: "\"Poetry's medium is not merely light as air, it is air: vital and deep as ordinary breath.\" — Robert Pinsky"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26a/robert-pinsky-11434_air_poetry-s-medium-is-not-merely-light-as-a_2284193.png"
---

#  Poetry's medium is not merely light as air, it is air…

![“Poetry's medium is not merely light as air, it is air: vital and deep as ordinary breath.” quote by Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26a/robert-pinsky-11434_air_poetry-s-medium-is-not-merely-light-as-a_2284193.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26a/robert-pinsky-11434_air_poetry-s-medium-is-not-merely-light-as-a_2284193.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26a/robert-pinsky-11434_air_poetry-s-medium-is-not-merely-light-as-a_2284193.png)

> “Poetry's medium is not merely light as air, it is air: vital and deep as ordinary breath.”

[Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Poetry is as essential as breath, a vital medium that sustains life beyond mere lightness.

**In simple terms:** Poetry is vital like breathing.

Key Takeaway

Value poetry’s depth.

Themes

art language existence

Mood

inspirational thoughtful

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- creative writing
- education
- mental health therapy

Key Concepts

literary theory aesthetics human experience

Questions to Reflect On

- How does poetry affect your daily life?
- What makes a poem feel essential?

A Different Perspective

Poetry can be seen as optional entertainment.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air/) [Breath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breath/) [Breaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) [Deep Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deep-ordinary-5343060/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Mediums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediums/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Ordinary Breath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-breath-5343058/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Medium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-medium-1409464/) [Vital Deep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vital-deep-5343059/)

## Related quotes

> [Poetry’s medium is the individual chest and throat and mouth of whoever undertakes to say the poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/poetry-s-medium-is-the-individual-chest-and-throat-and-mouth-of/)

[Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/)

> [Poetry is its own medium; it's very different than writing prose. Poetry can talk in an imagistic sense, it has particular ways of catching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/story-musgrave/poetry-is-its-own-medium-it-s-very-different-than-writing-prose/)

[Story Musgrave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/story-musgrave/)

> [When I devoted myself to poetry - and poetry is a very serious medium - I don't think the people that knew me as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-castillo/when-i-devoted-myself-to-poetry-and-poetry-is-a-very-serious-medium-i/)

[Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/)

> [The trees are white with dust, that o'er their sleep Wave their broad curtains in the south-wind's breath, While underneath such leafy tents they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-trees-are-white-with-dust-that-o-er-their-sleep-wave-their-broad/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [Remember that no matter how selfish, how cruel, how unfeeling you have been today, every time you take a breath, you make a flower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/remember-that-no-matter-how-selfish-how-cruel-how-unfeeling-you-have/)

[Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/)

> [The river is motion, turmoil, rage. As the river flows, it wonders what it would be like to be so still, to take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kekla-magoon/the-river-is-motion-turmoil-rage-as-the-river-flows-it-wonders-what/)

[Kekla Magoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kekla-magoon/)

> [Tic Tacs are the maracas of breath mints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/tic-tacs-are-the-maracas-of-breath-mints/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [Poetry should be vital--either stirring our blood by its divine movements or snatching our breath by its divine perfection. To do both is supreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/poetry-should-be-vital-either-stirring-our-blood-by-its-divine/)

[Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/)

> [Dave Wann's recipes from his own experience in Simple Prosperity are a breath of fresh air, and just what we need for a saner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-henderson/dave-wann-s-recipes-from-his-own-experience-in-simple-prosperity-are/)

[Hazel Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-henderson/)

> [One day I was running around playing with my son Connor when afterwards I was sweating, tired and out of breath. I was embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-carey/one-day-i-was-running-around-playing-with-my-son-connor-when/)

[Drew Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-carey/)

> [God is greater than anything that man can do or has done. He is not undone by just a train of powder. "Our God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/god-is-greater-than-anything-that-man-can-do-or-has-done-he-is-not/)

[Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/)

> [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/)

[Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/)

> [Many years ago I was fishing, and as I was reeling in the poor fish, I realised, 'I am killing him - all for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/many-years-ago-i-was-fishing-and-as-i-was-reeling-in-the-poor-fish-i/)

[Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/)

> [Jazz is the music of the body. The breath comes through brass. It is the body's breath, and the strings' wails and moans are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/jazz-is-the-music-of-the-body-the-breath-comes-through-brass-it-is/)

[Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/)

> [Don't let a breath escape from your body without Krishna's name. That should be our determination throughout our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/don-t-let-a-breath-escape-from-your-body-without-krishna-s-name-that/)

[Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/)

## More by Robert Pinsky

> [I have always been thinking about the sounds and shades and aromas of words - fitting them together or disrupting their customary march -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/i-have-always-been-thinking-about-the-sounds-and-shades-and-aromas-of/)

[Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/)

> [I am a frustrated saxophone player. If I could, I would abandon all of my books, and I would trade it all if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/i-am-a-frustrated-saxophone-player-if-i-could-i-would-abandon-all-of/)

[Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/)

> [When I was a teenager, just about the only thing I could do right was play music. In my graduating class, I was certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/when-i-was-a-teenager-just-about-the-only-thing-i-could-do-right-was/)

[Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/)

> [Poetry’s medium is the individual chest and throat and mouth of whoever undertakes to say the poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/poetry-s-medium-is-the-individual-chest-and-throat-and-mouth-of/)

[Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/)

> [An artist needs not so much an audience, as to feel a need to answer, a promise to respond…a good feeling about his art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/an-artist-needs-not-so-much-an-audience-as-to-feel-a-need-to-answer-a/)

[Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/)

> [“This is one of the great human mysteries: why do works of art about bad things such as loss and deprivation make us feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/this-is-one-of-the-great-human-mysteries-why-do-works-of-art-about/)

[Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/)

> [Autobiography is a genre notorious for falsehood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/autobiography-is-a-genre-notorious-for-falsehood/)

[Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/)

> [Even in the scorched and frozen world of the dead after the holocaust The wheel as it turns goes on accreting ornaments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/even-in-the-scorched-and-frozen-world-of-the-dead-after-the-holocaust/)

[Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/)

> [In jazz, as in poetry, there is always that play between what’s regular and what’s wild. That has always appealed to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/in-jazz-as-in-poetry-there-is-always-that-play-between-what-s-regular/)

[Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/)

> [The last thing a young artist should do in poetry or any other field is think about whats in style, whats current, what are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/the-last-thing-a-young-artist-should-do-in-poetry-or-any-other-field/)

[Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/)

> [The wonderful 17th Century poet, Robert Herrick, wrote a poem entitled, 'To Live Merrily and to Trust to Good Verses.' Easy to say, Robert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/the-wonderful-17th-century-poet-robert-herrick-wrote-a-poem-entitled/)

[Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/)

> ['Write' is almost the wrong verb for what I do. I think 'compose' is more accurate because you're trying to make the sounds in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/write-is-almost-the-wrong-verb-for-what-i-do-i-think-compose-is-more/)

[Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/)

> [My poems - like my family life, my life with friends, my teaching - these things express who I am. I don't feel any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/my-poems-like-my-family-life-my-life-with-friends-my-teaching-these/)

[Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/)

> [“Symmetry suggests one myth, or significance: the drinking of writers coming from too much concentration, in solitude, upon feelings expressed for or even about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/symmetry-suggests-one-myth-or-significance-the-drinking-of-writers/)

[Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/)

> [I love form, but I'm not interested in forms. I've never written a sonnet or villanelle or sestina or any of that. For me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/i-love-form-but-i-m-not-interested-in-forms-i-ve-never-written-a/)

[Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/)

[Explore all 60 Robert Pinsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/)

## More Air quotes

> [I will be a tireless advocate for our District's defense priorities including Sheppard Air Force Base, Pantex, Bell Helicopter, universities conducting important research, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/i-will-be-a-tireless-advocate-for-our-district-s-defense-priorities/)

[Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/)

> [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/)

[Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/)

> [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/)

[Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/)

> [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/)

[Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/)

> [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/)

[Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/)

> [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/)

[Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/)

> [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/)

[N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/)

> [There was a little nook on Air Force Two that contained the vice presidential seal, and I would sort of wedge myself in there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-biden/there-was-a-little-nook-on-air-force-two-that-contained-the-vice/)

[Jill Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-biden/)

> [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/)

[Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/)

> [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-fare-that-s-darned-good-advice/)

[Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/)

> [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/)

[Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/)

> [“It is unnatural to fear something natural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/it-is-unnatural-to-fear-something-natural/)

[Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/)

[Browse all 6,278 Air quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Poetry's medium is not merely light as air, it is air: vital and deep as ordinary breath.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Robert Pinsky"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/poetry-s-medium-is-not-merely-light-as-air-it-is-air-vital-and-deep/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Air"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/poetry-s-medium-is-not-merely-light-as-air-it-is-air-vital-and-deep/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26a/robert-pinsky-11434_air_poetry-s-medium-is-not-merely-light-as-a_2284193.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26a/robert-pinsky-11434_air_poetry-s-medium-is-not-merely-light-as-a_2284193.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26a/robert-pinsky-11434_air_poetry-s-medium-is-not-merely-light-as-a_2284193.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Poetry's medium is not merely light as air, it is air: vital and deep as ordinary breath.” — Robert Pinsky",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Robert Pinsky",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinsky/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Poetry's medium is not merely light...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/poetry-s-medium-is-not-merely-light-as-air-it-is-air-vital-and-deep/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/poetry-s-medium-is-not-merely-light-as-air-it-is-air-vital-and-deep/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
