--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When anyone escapes, my heart / leaps up…" description: "\"When anyone escapes, my heart / leaps up. Even when it's I who am escaped from, / I am half on the side of the leaver.\" — Sharon Olds" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/sharon-olds-8682_escaped_when-anyone-escapes-my-heart-leaps-up-ev_819488.jpg" --- # When anyone escapes, my heart / leaps up. Even when it's I… ![“When anyone escapes, my heart / leaps up. Even when it's I who am escaped from, / I am half on the side of the leaver.” quote by Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/sharon-olds-8682_escaped_when-anyone-escapes-my-heart-leaps-up-ev_819488.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/sharon-olds-8682_escaped_when-anyone-escapes-my-heart-leaps-up-ev_819488.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/sharon-olds-8682_escaped_when-anyone-escapes-my-heart-leaps-up-ev_819488.jpg) > “When anyone escapes, my heart / leaps up. Even when it's I who am escaped from, / I am half on the side of the leaver.” [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even when someone leaves, we feel conflicted, partly empathizing with the one who departs. **In simple terms:** Feeling mixed emotions when others escape. Key Takeaway Acknowledge both empathy and personal impact. Themes empathy departure conflict human connection Mood empathetic melancholic Type poetic psychological When to use this quote - friendship - family - workplace - support groups Key Concepts psychology relationship dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Why do we sometimes side with the leaver? - How can we process mixed feelings health? A Different Perspective Empathy may clash with personal loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Leap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leap/) [Leavers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leavers/) ## Related quotes > [I always imagined music trapped inside my clarinet, not trapped inside of me. But what if music is what escapes when a heart breaks?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jandy-nelson/i-always-imagined-music-trapped-inside-my-clarinet-not-trapped-inside/) [Jandy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jandy-nelson/) > [But what if music is what escapes when a heart breaks?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jandy-nelson/but-what-if-music-is-what-escapes-when-a-heart-breaks/) [Jandy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jandy-nelson/) > [Details are our business as writers. Your heart leaps when you see a detail that can go somewhere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/details-are-our-business-as-writers-your-heart-leaps-when-you-see-a/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“My heart leaps as I remember this morning's note. This boy is my weirdo. My weirdo is hot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-patrick/my-heart-leaps-as-i-remember-this-morning-s-note-this-boy-is-my/) [Cat Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-patrick/) > [“When I think of you, some times my heart leaps right out my chest, and goes running around the room dancing!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-smith/when-i-think-of-you-some-times-my-heart-leaps-right-out-my-chest-and/) [Gloria Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-smith/) > [“My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky; So was it when my life began; So is it now I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holmes/my-heart-leaps-up-when-i-behold-a-rainbow-in-the-sky-so-was-it-when-3/) [Richard Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holmes/) > [My heart leaps at the trumpet's voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/my-heart-leaps-at-the-trumpet-s-voice/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“Notice when your heart leaps up in joyous exuberance.In these moments the voice of your spirit is speaking directly to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justine-willis-toms/notice-when-your-heart-leaps-up-in-joyous-exuberance-in-these-moments/) Justine Willis Toms > [My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began; So is it now I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/my-heart-leaps-up-when-i-behold-a-rainbow-in-the-sky-so-was-it-when-2/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [I once read somewhere that Sean Connery left school at the age of 13 and later went on to read Proust and Finnegans Wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dewitt/i-once-read-somewhere-that-sean-connery-left-school-at-the-age-of-13/) [Helen DeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dewitt/) > [Openness isn't the end; it's the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/openness-isn-t-the-end-it-s-the-beginning/) [Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/) > [In a relationship, it is better to be the leaver than the leavee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/in-a-relationship-it-is-better-to-be-the-leaver-than-the-leavee/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [I've taught fifth-year Christmas leavers last thing on a Friday afternoon. Basically, if you can face that you can face anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/i-ve-taught-fifth-year-christmas-leavers-last-thing-on-a-friday/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [We have to ensure that our immigration system works in the interests of Britain, enabling us to make a realistic promise to our young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-duncan-smith/we-have-to-ensure-that-our-immigration-system-works-in-the-interests/) [Iain Duncan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-duncan-smith/) > [The premise of the Taker story is 'the world belongs to man'. … The premise of the Leaver story is 'man belongs to the world'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/the-premise-of-the-taker-story-is-the-world-belongs-to-man-the/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) ## More by Sharon Olds > [Poems come from ordinary experiences and objects, I think. Out of memory - a dress I lent my daughter on her way back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/poems-come-from-ordinary-experiences-and-objects-i-think-out-of/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [There are some fine books and essays about that. Lewis Hyde has written about alcoholism and poets and the role that society gives its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/there-are-some-fine-books-and-essays-about-that-lewis-hyde-has/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [I'm not asking a poem to carry a lot of rocks in its pockets. Just being an ordinary observer and liver and feeler and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-m-not-asking-a-poem-to-carry-a-lot-of-rocks-in-its-pockets-just/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“How do they do it, the ones who make love without love? How do they come to the come to the come to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/how-do-they-do-it-the-ones-who-make-love-without-love-how-do-they/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [She'd crack A joke sharp as a tin lid Hot from the teeth of the can-opener, And cackle her crack-corn laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/she-d-crack-a-joke-sharp-as-a-tin-lid-hot-from-the-teeth-of-the-can/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [If I wrote in a sonnet form, I would be distorting. Or if I had some great new idea for line breaks and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/if-i-wrote-in-a-sonnet-form-i-would-be-distorting-or-if-i-had-some/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Many poets write books. They'll tell you: Well, I've got my next book, but there are two poems I need to write, one about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/many-poets-write-books-they-ll-tell-you-well-i-ve-got-my-next-book/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“as if languagelessness was a step up, in evolution, from the chatter of consciousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/as-if-languagelessness-was-a-step-up-in-evolution-from-the-chatter-of/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Maybe we can use a metaphor for it, out of dance. I think for many years I was aware of the need, in dance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/maybe-we-can-use-a-metaphor-for-it-out-of-dance-i-think-for-many/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Who wants to put together something that will bear some relationship to the vision or memory or experience or story or idea or dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/who-wants-to-put-together-something-that-will-bear-some-relationship/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“I put my arms around a trunk and squeezed it, then I lay down on my father's grave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-put-my-arms-around-a-trunk-and-squeezed-it-then-i-lay-down-on-my/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“...the liquor like fire in his hand”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/the-liquor-like-fire-in-his-hand/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [I'm probably so out of it at my age that I don't know what people think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-m-probably-so-out-of-it-at-my-age-that-i-don-t-know-what-people/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“Some people think I should be over my ex by now — maybe I thought I might have been over him more by now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/some-people-think-i-should-be-over-my-ex-by-now-maybe-i-thought-i/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Maybe in order to understand sex fully/one has to risk being destroyed by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/maybe-in-order-to-understand-sex-fully-one-has-to-risk-being/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) [Explore all 78 Sharon Olds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) ## More Escaped quotes > [“and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/and-i-only-am-escaped-alone-to-tell-thee/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [I'm an escaped car thief. I broke out of prison to see the Cubs in the World Series.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-belushi/i-m-an-escaped-car-thief-i-broke-out-of-prison-to-see-the-cubs-in-the/) [James Belushi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-belushi/) > [I'm scared of audiences. One show in Amsterdam I was so nervous, I escaped out the fire exit. I've thrown up a couple of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adele/i-m-scared-of-audiences-one-show-in-amsterdam-i-was-so-nervous-i/) [Adele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adele/) > [I tried to contain myself... but I escaped!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-paulsen/i-tried-to-contain-myself-but-i-escaped/) [Gary Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-paulsen/) > [“He was bewildered at how quickly he had escaped his old life and fallen into this new one with strangely pleasant crazy people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/he-was-bewildered-at-how-quickly-he-had-escaped-his-old-life-and/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“Joe had run away, escaped without a trace, and come here to hide. But now he was ready to come home. The problem was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/joe-had-run-away-escaped-without-a-trace-and-come-here-to-hide-but/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [I close my eyes. An image flashes—emerging from the van with Julian after our escape from New York City; believing, in that moment, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-close-my-eyes-an-image-flashes-emerging-from-the-van-with-julian/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“In many ways, this place wasn’t so different from the lumberyards his men had recently escaped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/in-many-ways-this-place-wasn-t-so-different-from-the-lumberyards-his/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [ The death toll is not nearly high enough... too many \[jihadists\] have escaped. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-death-toll-is-not-nearly-high-enough-too-many-jihadists-have/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [If you can't be content with what you have received, be thankful for what you have escaped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/if-you-can-t-be-content-with-what-you-have-received-be-thankful-for/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [“Running my fastest not from my past. Running from those who have hurt me in it. And, they can't catch me anymore. I escaped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-telford/running-my-fastest-not-from-my-past-running-from-those-who-have-hurt/) [Jill Telford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-telford/) > [“I should have left yesterday before I found out how hot you run. But I didn’t. And now I’m fucked.” One hand dropped from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-bailey/i-should-have-left-yesterday-before-i-found-out-how-hot-you-run-but-i/) [Tessa Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-bailey/) > [Refuse to let the thought of death bother you: nothing is grim when we have escaped that fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/refuse-to-let-the-thought-of-death-bother-you-nothing-is-grim-when-we/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [It has not escaped us that other competitors have also identified health as an attractive marketplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-van-houten/it-has-not-escaped-us-that-other-competitors-have-also-identified/) [Frans van Houten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-van-houten/) > [“We havent´s escaped from our prison, we´ve just moved into a new one. And although there are countless places to hide, there´s nowhere to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/we-havent-s-escaped-from-our-prison-we-ve-just-moved-into-a-new-one/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) Browse all 124 Escaped quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When anyone escapes, my heart / leaps up. 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