---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am a forward-looking girl and don't…"
description: "\"“I am a forward-looking girl and don't stay where I am. \"Left right, Be bright,\" as I said in my poem. That's on days when I am one big bounce, and hav..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/stevie-smith-8661_poem_i-am-a-forward-looking-girl-and-don-t-st_2764188.jpg"
---

#  I am a forward-looking girl and don't stay where I am…

![“I am a forward-looking girl and don't stay where I am. &quot;Left right, Be bright,&quot; as I said in my poem. That's on days when I am one big bounce, and have to go careful then not to be a nuisance. But later I get back to my own philosophical outlook that keeps us all kissable.” quote by Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/stevie-smith-8661_poem_i-am-a-forward-looking-girl-and-don-t-st_2764188.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/stevie-smith-8661_poem_i-am-a-forward-looking-girl-and-don-t-st_2764188.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/stevie-smith-8661_poem_i-am-a-forward-looking-girl-and-don-t-st_2764188.jpg)

> ““I am a forward-looking girl and don't stay where I am. "Left right, Be bright," as I said in my poem. That's on days when I am one big bounce, and have to go careful then not to be a nuisance. But later I get back to my own philosophical outlook that keeps us all kissable.””

[Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/)

## About This Quote

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

A youthful voice urges progress while acknowledging moments of caution and self‑reflection.

**In simple terms:** Keep moving forward, but pause wisely.

Key Takeaway

Balance ambition with self‑care.

Themes

growth self‑reflection optimism

Mood

hopeful introspective

Type

literary motivational

When to use this quote

- career planning
- creative projects
- mental health coping

Key Concepts

personal development poetry identity

Questions to Reflect On

- What does “being kissable” mean to you?
- When should you allow yourself to pause?

A Different Perspective

Overemphasis on progress can cause burnout.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/)

## Related quotes

> [“As Auden is believed to have said, no poem saved a single Jew from the gas chambers. Never mind. Write the poems anyway. Play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/as-auden-is-believed-to-have-said-no-poem-saved-a-single-jew-from-the/)

[Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/)

> [I've never been this wet in my life, " said Kira. "Even immersed in a bathtub I swear I was dryer than I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-wells/i-ve-never-been-this-wet-in-my-life-said-kira-even-immersed-in-a/)

[Dan Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-wells/)

> [“Something inside me burned bright when he said that. A hell of a lot of people had seen me last night, but only one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-benway/something-inside-me-burned-bright-when-he-said-that-a-hell-of-a-lot/)

[robin benway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-benway/)

> [“Tanto gentile e tanto onesta pare la donna mia,” he whispered, the words from Dante’s La Vita Nuova flooding from his lips. “Quand’ella altrui…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-darhower/tanto-gentile-e-tanto-onesta-pare-la-donna-mia-he-whispered-the-words/)

[J.M. Darhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-darhower/)

> [The great post-Holocaust poet, Paul Celan, said that a poem is a message in a bottle sent out in the not always greatly hopeful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/the-great-post-holocaust-poet-paul-celan-said-that-a-poem-is-a/)

[Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/)

> [It has been said that a poem should not mean but be. This is not quite accurate. In a poem, as distinct from many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/it-has-been-said-that-a-poem-should-not-mean-but-be-this-is-not-quite/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [“Heart; I named my lass sweetly; She danced to the mundane tunes of daftness; By nature she was midsummer madness; Or rather a reckless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranjani-ramachandran/heart-i-named-my-lass-sweetly-she-danced-to-the-mundane-tunes-of/)

[Ranjani Ramachandran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranjani-ramachandran/)

> [I lit my candle at both ends when you swore you would stay, but when you left they both went as you slammed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ashmore/i-lit-my-candle-at-both-ends-when-you-swore-you-would-stay-but-when/)

[Timothy Ashmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ashmore/)

> [I'm probably this way, because everyone whose said they'd stay, left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-forgotten/i-m-probably-this-way-because-everyone-whose-said-they-d-stay-left/)

The Forgotten

> [I'm probably this way, because everyone who said they'd stay, left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheyenne/i-m-probably-this-way-because-everyone-who-said-they-d-stay-left/)

[Cheyenne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheyenne/)

> [“Stay with me.” “I never left you. Not really.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-l-scott/stay-with-me-i-never-left-you-not-really/)

[S.L. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-l-scott/)

> [“If you have to convince someone to stay with you then they have already left.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/if-you-have-to-convince-someone-to-stay-with-you-then-they-have/)

[Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/)

> [Why cou;dn't you stay? you left for no reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author-name/why-cou-dn-t-you-stay-you-left-for-no-reason/)

Author Name

> [“Whatever you want," he said. "Will you please come here now?" I slipped a piece of protective tissue over my drawing and flipped the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jensen/whatever-you-want-he-said-will-you-please-come-here-now-i-slipped-a/)

[Melissa Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jensen/)

> [You don’t read or overhear the voice in the poem, you are the voice in the poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-vendler/you-don-t-read-or-overhear-the-voice-in-the-poem-you-are-the-voice-in/)

[Helen Vendler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-vendler/)

## More by Stevie Smith

> [I only asked my friends to be friendly and polite, I found them indifferent and censorious; The one I left to silence, the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/i-only-asked-my-friends-to-be-friendly-and-polite-i-found-them/)

[Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/)

> [Oh, no no no, it was too cold always (Still the dead one lay moaning) I was much too far out all my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/oh-no-no-no-it-was-too-cold-always-still-the-dead-one-lay-moaning-i/)

[Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/)

> [“Wild creatures' eyes, the colonel said, Are innocent and fathomless And when I look at them I see That they are not aware of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/wild-creatures-eyes-the-colonel-said-are-innocent-and-fathomless-and/)

[Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/)

> [“Raise from your bed of languor Raise from your bed of dismay Your friends will not come tomorrow As they did not come today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/raise-from-your-bed-of-languor-raise-from-your-bed-of-dismay-your/)

[Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/)

> [“There is a god in whom I do not believe Yet to this god my love stretches, This god whom I do not believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/there-is-a-god-in-whom-i-do-not-believe-yet-to-this-god-my-love/)

[Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/)

> [So I fancy my Muse says, when I wish to die, Oh no, Oh no, we are not yet friends enough, And Virtue also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/so-i-fancy-my-muse-says-when-i-wish-to-die-oh-no-oh-no-we-are-not-yet/)

[Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/)

> [If a lady comes up to you and tells you that your dear mama is lying in a faint on the pavement round the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/if-a-lady-comes-up-to-you-and-tells-you-that-your-dear-mama-is-lying/)

[Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/)

> [I like food, I like stripping vegetables of their skins, I like to have a slim young parsnip under my knife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/i-like-food-i-like-stripping-vegetables-of-their-skins-i-like-to-have/)

[Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/)

> [Death's not a separation or alteration or parting; it's just a one-handled door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/death-s-not-a-separation-or-alteration-or-parting-it-s-just-a-one/)

[Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/)

> [The flower and fruit of love are mine The ant, the fieldmouse and the mole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/the-flower-and-fruit-of-love-are-mine-the-ant-the-fieldmouse-and-the/)

[Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/)

> [“Prate not to me of suicide, Faint heart in battle, not for pride I say Endure, but that such end denied Makes welcomer yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/prate-not-to-me-of-suicide-faint-heart-in-battle-not-for-pride-i-say/)

[Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/)

> [It is an amiable part of human nature, that we should love our animals; it is even better to love them to the point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/it-is-an-amiable-part-of-human-nature-that-we-should-love-our-animals/)

[Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/)

> [My Muse sits forlorn She wishes she had not been born She sits in the cold No word she says is ever told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/my-muse-sits-forlorn-she-wishes-she-had-not-been-born-she-sits-in-the/)

[Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/)

> [There are moments of despair that come sometimes, when night sets in and a white fog presses against the windows. Then our house changes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/there-are-moments-of-despair-that-come-sometimes-when-night-sets-in/)

[Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/)

> [Fourteen-year-old, why must you giggle and dote, Fourteen-year-old, why are you such a goat? I'm fourteen years old, that is the reason, I giggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/fourteen-year-old-why-must-you-giggle-and-dote-fourteen-year-old-why/)

[Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/)

[Explore all 79 Stevie Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/)

## More Poem quotes

> [You don’t read or overhear the voice in the poem, you are the voice in the poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-vendler/you-don-t-read-or-overhear-the-voice-in-the-poem-you-are-the-voice-in/)

[Helen Vendler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-vendler/)

> [“Whatever you want," he said. "Will you please come here now?" I slipped a piece of protective tissue over my drawing and flipped the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jensen/whatever-you-want-he-said-will-you-please-come-here-now-i-slipped-a/)

[Melissa Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jensen/)

> [“sometimes when everything seems at its worst when all conspires and gnaws and the hours, days, weeks years seem wasted – stretched there upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/sometimes-when-everything-seems-at-its-worst-when-all-conspires-and/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [“The name does not deserve the poem, but the poem deserves the name.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/the-name-does-not-deserve-the-poem-but-the-poem-deserves-the-name/)

[Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/)

> [Memory revises me. Even now a letter comes from a place I don’t know, from someone with my name and postmarked years ago, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/memory-revises-me-even-now-a-letter-comes-from-a-place-i-don-t-know/)

[Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/)

> [“Sentinels of trees breathe life into bodies of earthly flesh As their mighty arms reach to the stars we join in their quest for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/sentinels-of-trees-breathe-life-into-bodies-of-earthly-flesh-as-their/)

[Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/)

> [“I cannot go to school today" Said little Peggy Ann McKay. "I have the measles and the mumps, A gash, a rash and purple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shel-silverstein/i-cannot-go-to-school-today-said-little-peggy-ann-mckay-i-have-the/)

[Shel Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shel-silverstein/)

> [“Good God, 'the elusive thing'. She had reached a turning point. She no longer believed that a situation could be made better by writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/good-god-the-elusive-thing-she-had-reached-a-turning-point-she-no/)

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

> [A day which passed without a poem from my pen I considered lost and misused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/a-day-which-passed-without-a-poem-from-my-pen-i-considered-lost-and/)

[Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/)

> [“The gift of words, the source of enjoyment, the source of delight that comes within and the unfading beauty and energy of words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euginia-herlihy/the-gift-of-words-the-source-of-enjoyment-the-source-of-delight-that/)

[Euginia Herlihy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euginia-herlihy/)

> [“Memories of past. Heartaches of old. Courage of brass. Lessons of gold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/memories-of-past-heartaches-of-old-courage-of-brass-lessons-of-gold/)

[Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/)

> [“To write a poem...to paint an image on canvass from the contemplation of nature and life...is to be present again in this world more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deeper-sense-of-presence-isabella-koldras/to-write-a-poem-to-paint-an-image-on-canvass-from-the-contemplation/)

Deeper sense of presence Isabella koldras

> [“Easter blessings All life’s sacrifices like autumn leaves awaken our senses and power to love and be whole Our Mother Earth, Our Father Sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/easter-blessings-all-life-s-sacrifices-like-autumn-leaves-awaken-our/)

[Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/)

> [Poetry is a lousy form of activism; it doesn't really change much. And maybe we can point to one or two historical times when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-gottlieb/poetry-is-a-lousy-form-of-activism-it-doesn-t-really-change-much-and/)

[Daphne Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-gottlieb/)

> [I am a poem. There is no way out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-am-a-poem-there-is-no-way-out/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

[Browse all 2,111 Poem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I am a forward-looking girl and don't stay where I am. \"Left right, Be bright,\" as I said in my poem. That's on days when I am one big bounce, and have to go careful then not to be a nuisance. But later I get back to my own philosophical outlook that keeps us all kissable.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Stevie Smith"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/i-am-a-forward-looking-girl-and-don-t-stay-where-i-am-left-right-be/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Poem"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/i-am-a-forward-looking-girl-and-don-t-stay-where-i-am-left-right-be/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/stevie-smith-8661_poem_i-am-a-forward-looking-girl-and-don-t-st_2764188.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/stevie-smith-8661_poem_i-am-a-forward-looking-girl-and-don-t-st_2764188.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/stevie-smith-8661_poem_i-am-a-forward-looking-girl-and-don-t-st_2764188.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I am a forward-looking girl and don't stay where I am. \"Left right, Be bright,\" as I said in my poem. That's…” — Stevie Smith",
                "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": "Stevie Smith",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I am a forward-looking girl and...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/i-am-a-forward-looking-girl-and-don-t-stay-where-i-am-left-right-be/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/i-am-a-forward-looking-girl-and-don-t-stay-where-i-am-left-right-be/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
