--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have some weak poems in that new…" description: "\"I have some weak poems in that new collection, which is why I'm not ready to send the collection out yet.\" — Shirley Geok-lin Lim" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5d/shirley-geok-lin-lim-3190_collections_i-have-some-weak-poems-in-that-new-colle_361595.png" --- # I have some weak poems in that new collection, which is… ![“I have some weak poems in that new collection, which is why I'm not ready to send the collection out yet.” quote by Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5d/shirley-geok-lin-lim-3190_collections_i-have-some-weak-poems-in-that-new-colle_361595.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5d/shirley-geok-lin-lim-3190_collections_i-have-some-weak-poems-in-that-new-colle_361595.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5d/shirley-geok-lin-lim-3190_collections_i-have-some-weak-poems-in-that-new-colle_361595.png) > “I have some weak poems in that new collection, which is why I'm not ready to send the collection out yet.” [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑doubt can stall creative work; the author delays publishing until feeling the work meets personal standards. **In simple terms:** Fear of imperfection holds back sharing art. Key Takeaway Accept imperfection and share. Themes creativity self‑criticism perfectionism Mood introspective hopeful Type literary motivational When to use this quote - writing - publishing - self‑expression Key Concepts artistic process confidence Questions to Reflect On - What would happen if you released work imperfectly? - How do you balance standards with vulnerability? A Different Perspective None; some argue that perfectionism can drive higher quality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [ You've read some of the poems in this new unpublished book \[Walker's Alphabet\], e.g., the poem "C." I have a number of poems whose… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/you-ve-read-some-of-the-poems-in-this-new-unpublished-book-walker-s/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Here are poems from a new generation of writers who honor the magnetic fields of the real; who feel and think with full and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/here-are-poems-from-a-new-generation-of-writers-who-honor-the/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Memory, faith, and the natural world as both witness to the cycle of human life and healer to a questioning heart are at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-lerman/memory-faith-and-the-natural-world-as-both-witness-to-the-cycle-of/) Eleanor Lerman > [The poems in Katherine Soniat's new collection, The Swing Girl, weave emotion's 'spray going farther than thought' with the 'bedrock things' of the trod-upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-stripling-byer/the-poems-in-katherine-soniat-s-new-collection-the-swing-girl-weave/) Kathryn Stripling Byer > [In White Summer, Joelle Biele exhibits a Roethke-like affinity with nature and natures creatures. At times a miniaturist, Biele constructs exquisite addresses to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-spires/in-white-summer-joelle-biele-exhibits-a-roethke-like-affinity-with/) Elizabeth Spires > [I never try to force poems into a collection simply because they were written/published within a certain period of time. They will eventually find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rigoberto-gonzalez/i-never-try-to-force-poems-into-a-collection-simply-because-they-were/) [Rigoberto Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rigoberto-gonzalez/) > [My first collection of poems was published by Bloodaxe Books, which was then a very new imprint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/my-first-collection-of-poems-was-published-by-bloodaxe-books-which/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [There are a couple of poems I've written with masculine muses, very often the muse to me is a female.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/there-are-a-couple-of-poems-i-ve-written-with-masculine-muses-very/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Crows appear in many of my new unpublished poems. In these walks, they take on a symbolic life apart from their irritating, undeniable, interruptive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/crows-appear-in-many-of-my-new-unpublished-poems-in-these-walks-they/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [As a rule of thumb, I would submit that if you need to call your floss provider, for any reason, you are probably not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/as-a-rule-of-thumb-i-would-submit-that-if-you-need-to-call-your-floss/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [If you're not ready to fall, you're not ready to hurdle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tonie-campbell/if-you-re-not-ready-to-fall-you-re-not-ready-to-hurdle/) Tonie Campbell > [You need to know everything. You both need to be comfortable with sharing everything. If you can't you are NOT ready to get married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-singletary/you-need-to-know-everything-you-both-need-to-be-comfortable-with/) [Michelle Singletary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-singletary/) > [If you cannot grok the overall structure of a program while taking a shower, you are not ready to code it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-e-pattis/if-you-cannot-grok-the-overall-structure-of-a-program-while-taking-a/) [Richard E. Pattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-e-pattis/) > [I'm not ready to own a place yet. I have the money, but I don't have the maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lawrence/i-m-not-ready-to-own-a-place-yet-i-have-the-money-but-i-don-t-have/) [Jennifer Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lawrence/) > [Yelena.” I halted in the doorway, looking back over my shoulder. “You once said I wasn’t ready to believe your reason for killing Reyad.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-v-snyder/yelena-i-halted-in-the-doorway-looking-back-over-my-shoulder-you-once/) [Maria V. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-v-snyder/) ## More by Shirley Geok-lin Lim > [Now that I'm more middle class, I have access to consumer goods. I do enjoy feminine frippery, feminine doo-da, stuff like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/now-that-i-m-more-middle-class-i-have-access-to-consumer-goods-i-do/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [The poem might come to you as you're preparing to teach a lecture, right? And when you say, "no" to that occasion, that poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/the-poem-might-come-to-you-as-you-re-preparing-to-teach-a-lecture/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Once you stop talking about the female body empowering itself vis-à-vis male forays or invasions or male demands or the necessity to respond to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/once-you-stop-talking-about-the-female-body-empowering-itself-vis-vis/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [I have a muse who's very powerful, but I'm still a hopeless deadbeat of a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-have-a-muse-who-s-very-powerful-but-i-m-still-a-hopeless-deadbeat/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Free verse is chained in sentence-to-sentence links and breaks free in line breaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/free-verse-is-chained-in-sentence-to-sentence-links-and-breaks-free/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [ I feel compassionate, because I know \[students\] all have to go down this road of suffering and it's going to be tough. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-feel-compassionate-because-i-know-students-all-have-to-go-down-this/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Even after the mothering dropped because my son grew up, the writing - the muse - was always the third wheel, the lowest on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/even-after-the-mothering-dropped-because-my-son-grew-up-the-writing/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [If you've been in a symbolic struggle long enough, even when the struggle is over, you don't know it's over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/if-you-ve-been-in-a-symbolic-struggle-long-enough-even-when-the/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > ["I want to be always happy," Maxine Hong Kingston announces . But, as this interview makes clear, for me, it was the desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-want-to-be-always-happy-maxine-hong-kingston-announces-but-as-this/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [I'm in my 60s, and a cancer scare just makes you more aware of mortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-m-in-my-60s-and-a-cancer-scare-just-makes-you-more-aware-of/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Crows appear in many of my new unpublished poems. In these walks, they take on a symbolic life apart from their irritating, undeniable, interruptive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/crows-appear-in-many-of-my-new-unpublished-poems-in-these-walks-they/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [People called me a tomboy. That was the term used then. I was very much someone who was comfortable in male clothing, and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/people-called-me-a-tomboy-that-was-the-term-used-then-i-was-very-much/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [I'm much more comfortable in pants and shirts, running around. There was a typical construction about womanhood when I was growing up that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-m-much-more-comfortable-in-pants-and-shirts-running-around-there/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [If I could write a novel while I'm walking, I probably would.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/if-i-could-write-a-novel-while-i-m-walking-i-probably-would/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Even today, I'm much more comfortable dressed in a male kind of way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/even-today-i-m-much-more-comfortable-dressed-in-a-male-kind-of-way/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) [Explore all 137 Shirley Geok-lin Lim quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) ## More Collections quotes > [Life is a collection of moments. 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I have to admit that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-treacy/mac-allowed-me-to-have-complete-freedom-on-the-collaborations-from/) [Philip Treacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-treacy/) > [I took a wrong turn on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I had never seen before,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-took-a-wrong-turn-on-the-way-to-the-bathroom-and-found-myself-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Whatever we may say against collections, which present authors in a disjointed form, they nevertheless bring about many excellent results. We are not always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/whatever-we-may-say-against-collections-which-present-authors-in-a/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [This is an extraordinary illustrated collection of Chinese herbsaccompanied by concise and expert comments. Jing-Nuan Wu has succeeded incompiling this most unique and informative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koji-nakanishi/this-is-an-extraordinary-illustrated-collection-of-chinese/) Koji Nakanishi > [I have a large watch collection, and classic watches are especially important to me. I had a silver Rolex, and I actually gave it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-berkus/i-have-a-large-watch-collection-and-classic-watches-are-especially/) [Nate Berkus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-berkus/) > [By calling it a memoir, I meant is as a collection of memories. I thought it was (a more) artful (title) than documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-merchant/by-calling-it-a-memoir-i-meant-is-as-a-collection-of-memories-i/) [Natalie Merchant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-merchant/) > [Who wrote the Bible? 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I have an extensive collection of name tags…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-campbell/i-ve-had-plenty-of-jo-jobs-nothing-i-d-call-a-career-let-me-put-it/) [Wayne Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-campbell/) > [The benefit of writing a collection - as opposed to a novel - is that I'm able to have some version of the war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/said-sayrafiezadeh/the-benefit-of-writing-a-collection-as-opposed-to-a-novel-is-that-i-m/) [Said Sayrafiezadeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/said-sayrafiezadeh/) > [Museums do not share their collections with other museums unless they get something in exchange. The Metropolitan will deal with the Louvre, but will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-broad/museums-do-not-share-their-collections-with-other-museums-unless-they/) [Eli Broad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-broad/) > [I didn't grow up in one of those restrictive Christian households where you couldn't do this or that. 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