--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: we that were wood when that wide wood was…" description: "\"“we that were wood when that wide wood was in a physical Universe playing with words bark be my limbs my hair be leaf Bride be my bow my lyre my quiver..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/susan-howe-36793_wood_we-that-were-wood-when-that-wide-wood-wa_1613802.png" --- # we that were wood when that wide wood was in a physical… ![“we that were wood when that wide wood was in a physical Universe playing with words bark be my limbs my hair be leaf Bride be my bow my lyre my quiver” quote by Susan Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/susan-howe-36793_wood_we-that-were-wood-when-that-wide-wood-wa_1613802.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/susan-howe-36793_wood_we-that-were-wood-when-that-wide-wood-wa_1613802.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/susan-howe-36793_wood_we-that-were-wood-when-that-wide-wood-wa_1613802.png) > ““we that were wood when that wide wood was in a physical Universe playing with words bark be my limbs my hair be leaf Bride be my bow my lyre my quiver ”” [Susan Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-howe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poem blends natural imagery with self‑identity, suggesting the speaker’s body and language are intertwined with the forest and its elements. **In simple terms:** Nature and language merge in the speaker’s identity. Key Takeaway Recognize how language shapes self‑perception. Themes identity nature language poetry Mood contemplative lyic Type poetic literary When to use this quote - creative writing - personal reflection - environmental education Key Concepts metaphor interconnectedness self‑construction Questions to Reflect On - How does the forest imagery affect your sense of self? - In what ways does language act as a limb? A Different Perspective The metaphor may obscure concrete meaning for some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [To me, playing with words is like playing with your food. You shouldn't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-penn/to-me-playing-with-words-is-like-playing-with-your-food-you-shouldn-t/) [Michael Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-penn/) > [I am still playing 'Words With Friends,' but on Virgin Atlantic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-baldwin/i-am-still-playing-words-with-friends-but-on-virgin-atlantic/) [Alec Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-baldwin/) > [I talk by playing, not by words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-worrell/i-talk-by-playing-not-by-words/) [Bernie Worrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-worrell/) > [“Poetry, playing with your words until you breathe life into them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-dragonwillow/poetry-playing-with-your-words-until-you-breathe-life-into-them/) Morgan Dragonwillow > [I made a lot of money and had a great time playing with the words that make up the news. I exploited the laziness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/i-made-a-lot-of-money-and-had-a-great-time-playing-with-the-words/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) > [I like playing around with the words; I love it when I feel like I've picked the exact right word to describe whatever it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-haddix/i-like-playing-around-with-the-words-i-love-it-when-i-feel-like-i-ve/) [Margaret Haddix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-haddix/) > [I think the thing I really got from Ginsberg was that you can tell a story through kind of painting pictures with words. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-del-rey/i-think-the-thing-i-really-got-from-ginsberg-was-that-you-can-tell-a/) [Lana Del Rey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-del-rey/) > [I love playing with words and texture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/binyavanga-wainaina/i-love-playing-with-words-and-texture/) [Binyavanga Wainaina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/binyavanga-wainaina/) > [A fraud is playing on his own words and aware of his own kind!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-pulumbarit/a-fraud-is-playing-on-his-own-words-and-aware-of-his-own-kind/) Amy Pulumbarit > [Anyone who undertakes the literary grind had better like playing around with words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/anyone-who-undertakes-the-literary-grind-had-better-like-playing/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [“I love the English language, playing with words, watching sentences fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/i-love-the-english-language-playing-with-words-watching-sentences-fit/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [And what is wrong with playing with words? Words love to be played with, just like children or kittens do!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-almond/and-what-is-wrong-with-playing-with-words-words-love-to-be-played/) [David Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-almond/) > [Very early in life I became fascinated with the wonders language can achieve. And I began playing with words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/very-early-in-life-i-became-fascinated-with-the-wonders-language-can/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [Playing with words is like combining different notes in music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shankar-mahadevan/playing-with-words-is-like-combining-different-notes-in-music/) [Shankar Mahadevan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shankar-mahadevan/) > [Being a kid myself, I loved playing and I loved playing with words, and making up things and riddles and songs and not afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malachy-mccourt/being-a-kid-myself-i-loved-playing-and-i-loved-playing-with-words-and/) [Malachy McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malachy-mccourt/) ## More by Susan Howe > [Whose order is shut inside the structure of a sentence?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howe/whose-order-is-shut-inside-the-structure-of-a-sentence/) [Susan Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-howe/) > [Soundwaves. It’s the difference between one stillness and another stillness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howe/soundwaves-it-s-the-difference-between-one-stillness-and-another/) [Susan Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-howe/) > [There’s a level at which words are spirit and paper is skin. That’s the fascination of archives. There’s still a bodily trace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howe/there-s-a-level-at-which-words-are-spirit-and-paper-is-skin-that-s/) [Susan Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-howe/) > [“We are all clothed with fleece of sheep I keep saying as if I were singing as these words do. Throw a shawl over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howe/we-are-all-clothed-with-fleece-of-sheep-i-keep-saying-as-if-i-were/) [Susan Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-howe/) > [If history is a record of survivors, Poetry shelters other voices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howe/if-history-is-a-record-of-survivors-poetry-shelters-other-voices/) [Susan Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-howe/) > [A poem is an invocation, rebellious return to the blessedness of beginning again, wandering free in pure process of forgetting and finding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howe/a-poem-is-an-invocation-rebellious-return-to-the-blessedness-of/) [Susan Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-howe/) > [I often think of the space of a page as a stage, with words, letters, syllable characters moving across.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howe/i-often-think-of-the-space-of-a-page-as-a-stage-with-words-letters/) [Susan Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-howe/) > [“God was true everything was a mother's role in childhood Someone was in that garden each knowing the other to be entirely inasmuch what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howe/god-was-true-everything-was-a-mother-s-role-in-childhood-someone-was/) [Susan Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-howe/) > [Herman Melville is not comforting. Emily Dickinson isn’t either. Maybe their work is too hungry for comfort, or just too vivid for comfort. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howe/herman-melville-is-not-comforting-emily-dickinson-isn-t-either-maybe/) [Susan Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-howe/) > [In Maureen Owen's perfectly titled Erosion's Pull, words and lines map, unmap, and revamp our everyday postcontemporary geographies: ironies and ambiguities, surrealistic conundrums, kaleidoscopic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howe/in-maureen-owen-s-perfectly-titled-erosion-s-pull-words-and-lines-map/) [Susan Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-howe/) > [“Now faith is not what we hereafter have we have a world resting on nothing Rest was never more than abstract since it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howe/now-faith-is-not-what-we-hereafter-have-we-have-a-world-resting-on/) [Susan Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-howe/) [Explore all 12 Susan Howe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-howe/) ## More Wood quotes > [“To say she is only a woman is to say a violin is a piece of wood with strings, and Dante is mere ink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-crown/to-say-she-is-only-a-woman-is-to-say-a-violin-is-a-piece-of-wood-with/) [Bruce Crown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-crown/) > [I have always loved wood. Every piece is different. It gets better with age and it has a certain character all of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-linley/i-have-always-loved-wood-every-piece-is-different-it-gets-better-with/) [David Linley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-linley/) > [A tree's wood is also its memoir.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/a-tree-s-wood-is-also-its-memoir/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [I get up every morning and chop wood, and I pretty much do it seven days a week, and I like to do it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/i-get-up-every-morning-and-chop-wood-and-i-pretty-much-do-it-seven/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [Whether it's a blessing or a curse, I have always played someone like 10 years younger. When I was 23 or 24, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-harnois/whether-it-s-a-blessing-or-a-curse-i-have-always-played-someone-like/) [Elisabeth Harnois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-harnois/) > [My plan is to open five restaurants based on the five elements in Chinese philosophy: wood, water, fire, earth and metal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-potts-dawson/my-plan-is-to-open-five-restaurants-based-on-the-five-elements-in/) [Arthur Potts Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-potts-dawson/) > [There's something so empowering about knowing I can pick up an axe and split a piece of wood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rain-dove/there-s-something-so-empowering-about-knowing-i-can-pick-up-an-axe/) [Rain Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rain-dove/) > [Am I the only one who has wood over that little vixen?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-wood-over-that-little-vixen/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [With 'Ed Wood,' I sobbed. With 'Frankenweenie,' I was crying. With 'Edward Scissorhands,' I always cry. There's always an incredible amount of purity, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/with-ed-wood-i-sobbed-with-frankenweenie-i-was-crying-with-edward/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [Don't continue adding wood to the gone flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassie-villegas/don-t-continue-adding-wood-to-the-gone-flame/) Cassie Villegas > [“The mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/the-mind-is-not-a-vessel-that-needs-filling-but-wood-that-needs/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [When the uncarved wood is split, its parts are put to use. When the sage is put to use, he becomes the head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-the-uncarved-wood-is-split-its-parts-are-put-to-use-when-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Every little girl wanted to be Natalie Wood, as did I.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-parrilla/every-little-girl-wanted-to-be-natalie-wood-as-did-i/) [Lana Parrilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-parrilla/) > [Wood feeds the fire which burns it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/wood-feeds-the-fire-which-burns-it/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [I work with wood a lot. I like building. I think of building. I would love to buy land on some water somewhere and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-canin/i-work-with-wood-a-lot-i-like-building-i-think-of-building-i-would/) [Ethan Canin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-canin/) Browse all 264 Wood quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“we that were wood when that wide wood was in a physical Universe playing with words bark be my limbs my hair be leaf Bride be my bow my lyre my quiver ”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susan Howe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howe/we-that-were-wood-when-that-wide-wood-was-in-a-physical-universe/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Wood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howe/we-that-were-wood-when-that-wide-wood-was-in-a-physical-universe/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/susan-howe-36793_wood_we-that-were-wood-when-that-wide-wood-wa_1613802.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/susan-howe-36793_wood_we-that-were-wood-when-that-wide-wood-wa_1613802.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/susan-howe-36793_wood_we-that-were-wood-when-that-wide-wood-wa_1613802.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“we that were wood when that wide wood was in a physical Universe playing with words bark be my limbs my hair…” — Susan Howe", "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": "Susan Howe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-howe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“we that were wood when that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howe/we-that-were-wood-when-that-wide-wood-was-in-a-physical-universe/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howe/we-that-were-wood-when-that-wide-wood-was-in-a-physical-universe/#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 } } ] } ```