--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I had no roof I made audacity my roof." description: "\"When I had no roof I made audacity my roof.\" — Robert Pinsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/robert-pinsky-11434_audacity_when-i-had-no-roof-i-made-audacity-my-ro_974899.png" --- # When I had no roof I made audacity my roof. ![“When I had no roof I made audacity my roof.” quote by Robert Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/robert-pinsky-11434_audacity_when-i-had-no-roof-i-made-audacity-my-ro_974899.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/robert-pinsky-11434_audacity_when-i-had-no-roof-i-made-audacity-my-ro_974899.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/robert-pinsky-11434_audacity_when-i-had-no-roof-i-made-audacity-my-ro_974899.png) > “When I had no roof I made audacity my roof.” [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. When lacking shelter, confidence becomes a protective covering. **In simple terms:** Confidence replaces a roof. Key Takeaway Cultivate inner strength in hardship. Themes resilience confidence hardship Mood determined reflective Type poetic motivational When to use this quote - homelessness - career setbacks - personal crises Key Concepts Existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What inner resources help you survive adversity? - How can you balance confidence with practical planning? A Different Perspective Confidence alone may not solve material needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audacity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audacity/) ## Related quotes > [“I had no roof I made       Audacity my roof. ROBERT PINSKY, “Samurai Song”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/i-had-no-roof-i-made-audacity-my-roof-robert-pinsky-samurai-song/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [You know what I was thinking about on my way home? How different my life would be if you’d made that gash a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/you-know-what-i-was-thinking-about-on-my-way-home-how-different-my/) [Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/) > [I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-have-the-audacity-to-believe-that-peoples-everywhere-can-have-three/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Hypocrisy is the audacity to preach integrity from a den of corruption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-fesler/hypocrisy-is-the-audacity-to-preach-integrity-from-a-den-of-corruption/) [Wes Fesler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-fesler/) > [God beckons storm clouds and they come. He tells the wind to blow and the rain to fall, and they obey immediately. He speaks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/god-beckons-storm-clouds-and-they-come-he-tells-the-wind-to-blow-and/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [“I had artistic classical training, and when you learn the classics for so many years, you might gain audacity, power and confidence to subvert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuno-roque/i-had-artistic-classical-training-and-when-you-learn-the-classics-for/) Nuno Roque > [“The audacity of my sagacity is instrumentality to my successity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/the-audacity-of-my-sagacity-is-instrumentality-to-my-successity/) [Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/) > [“How can you have memories if you don't have the audacity to create them?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wunder/how-can-you-have-memories-if-you-don-t-have-the-audacity-to-create/) [Wendy Wunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wunder/) > [Anything can happen: anything. Or nothing. Who can say? The world, monstrous, is made that way, and in the end consumes us all. Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/anything-can-happen-anything-or-nothing-who-can-say-the-world/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [What price would God demand from the churches for having the audacity to lighten the color of his son's skin, and straighten out his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-gregory/what-price-would-god-demand-from-the-churches-for-having-the-audacity/) [Dick Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gregory/) > [“She was fierce in the presence of death, heroic even, as she was at no other time. Its threat gave her direction, clarity, audacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-was-fierce-in-the-presence-of-death-heroic-even-as-she-was-at-no/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [To reinvent your own country you need a great audacity of hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/to-reinvent-your-own-country-you-need-a-great-audacity-of-hope/) [Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/) > [Few men realize that their life, the very essence of their character, their capabilities and their audacities, are only the expression of their belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/few-men-realize-that-their-life-the-very-essence-of-their-character/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“Between an Error and a Lie, there are Worlds – an Error is an unintended Mistake, a Lie is an intentional Audacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sino-melo/between-an-error-and-a-lie-there-are-worlds-an-error-is-an-unintended/) [Sino Melo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sino-melo/) > [All too often, it is audacity and not talent that moves an artist to center stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/all-too-often-it-is-audacity-and-not-talent-that-moves-an-artist-to/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) ## 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 Audacity quotes > [All too often, it is audacity and not talent that moves an artist to center stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/all-too-often-it-is-audacity-and-not-talent-that-moves-an-artist-to/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [“Between an Error and a Lie, there are Worlds – an Error is an unintended Mistake, a Lie is an intentional Audacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sino-melo/between-an-error-and-a-lie-there-are-worlds-an-error-is-an-unintended/) [Sino Melo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sino-melo/) > [Few men realize that their life, the very essence of their character, their capabilities and their audacities, are only the expression of their belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/few-men-realize-that-their-life-the-very-essence-of-their-character/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [To reinvent your own country you need a great audacity of hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/to-reinvent-your-own-country-you-need-a-great-audacity-of-hope/) [Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/) > [“She was fierce in the presence of death, heroic even, as she was at no other time. Its threat gave her direction, clarity, audacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-was-fierce-in-the-presence-of-death-heroic-even-as-she-was-at-no/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [What price would God demand from the churches for having the audacity to lighten the color of his son's skin, and straighten out his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-gregory/what-price-would-god-demand-from-the-churches-for-having-the-audacity/) [Dick Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gregory/) > [Anything can happen: anything. Or nothing. Who can say? The world, monstrous, is made that way, and in the end consumes us all. Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/anything-can-happen-anything-or-nothing-who-can-say-the-world/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [“How can you have memories if you don't have the audacity to create them?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wunder/how-can-you-have-memories-if-you-don-t-have-the-audacity-to-create/) [Wendy Wunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wunder/) > [“The audacity of my sagacity is instrumentality to my successity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/the-audacity-of-my-sagacity-is-instrumentality-to-my-successity/) [Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/) > [“I had artistic classical training, and when you learn the classics for so many years, you might gain audacity, power and confidence to subvert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuno-roque/i-had-artistic-classical-training-and-when-you-learn-the-classics-for/) Nuno Roque > [God beckons storm clouds and they come. He tells the wind to blow and the rain to fall, and they obey immediately. He speaks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/god-beckons-storm-clouds-and-they-come-he-tells-the-wind-to-blow-and/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [Hypocrisy is the audacity to preach integrity from a den of corruption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-fesler/hypocrisy-is-the-audacity-to-preach-integrity-from-a-den-of-corruption/) [Wes Fesler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-fesler/) > [I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-have-the-audacity-to-believe-that-peoples-everywhere-can-have-three/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The difference between a vision and a daydream is the audacity to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-furtick/the-difference-between-a-vision-and-a-daydream-is-the-audacity-to-act/) [Steven Furtick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-furtick/) > [“Whether personal or organizational, building capacity to effectively deal with change creates resilience, and without exceptional resilience there is no antifragility.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spitz/whether-personal-or-organizational-building-capacity-to-effectively/) [Roger Spitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spitz/) [Browse all 193 Audacity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audacity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I had no roof I made audacity my roof.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Pinsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/when-i-had-no-roof-i-made-audacity-my-roof/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Audacity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/when-i-had-no-roof-i-made-audacity-my-roof/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/robert-pinsky-11434_audacity_when-i-had-no-roof-i-made-audacity-my-ro_974899.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/robert-pinsky-11434_audacity_when-i-had-no-roof-i-made-audacity-my-ro_974899.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/robert-pinsky-11434_audacity_when-i-had-no-roof-i-made-audacity-my-ro_974899.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I had no roof I made audacity my roof.” — 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": "When I had no roof I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/when-i-had-no-roof-i-made-audacity-my-roof/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinsky/when-i-had-no-roof-i-made-audacity-my-roof/#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 } } ] } ```