--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Any work of art makes one very simple…" description: "\"Any work of art makes one very simple demand on anyone who genuinely wants to get in touch with it. And that is to stop. You've got to stop what you're..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/w-s-merwin-10641_art_any-work-of-art-makes-one-very-simple-de_1054976.jpg" --- # Any work of art makes one very simple demand on anyone who… ![“Any work of art makes one very simple demand on anyone who genuinely wants to get in touch with it. And that is to stop. You've got to stop what you're doing, what you're thinking, and what you're expecting and just be there for the poem for however long it takes.” quote by W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/w-s-merwin-10641_art_any-work-of-art-makes-one-very-simple-de_1054976.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/w-s-merwin-10641_art_any-work-of-art-makes-one-very-simple-de_1054976.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/w-s-merwin-10641_art_any-work-of-art-makes-one-very-simple-de_1054976.jpg) > “Any work of art makes one very simple demand on anyone who genuinely wants to get in touch with it. And that is to stop. You've got to stop what you're doing, what you're thinking, and what you're expecting and just be there for the poem for however long it takes.” [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. To truly engage with art, one must cease all distractions and fully be present with the work. **In simple terms:** Stop multitasking; just be with the poem. Key Takeaway Give art your undivided attention. Themes mindfulness art appreciation presence Mood contemplative calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - reading poetry - visiting galleries - listening to music - creative writing Key Concepts concentration silence immersion Questions to Reflect On - What practices help you be present with art? - How does distraction affect your appreciation? A Different Perspective Modern life’s constant stimulation can hinder deep focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Works of art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/works-of-art/) ## Related quotes > [Relationships end because once the person has got you they stop doing the things it took to get you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/relationships-end-because-once-the-person-has-got-you-they-stop-doing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You've got to stop doing all the things that people have tried, tested, and found out don't work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dunlop/you-ve-got-to-stop-doing-all-the-things-that-people-have-tried-tested/) Michael Dunlop > [“He seems like he wants to touch me, but we've lost any sense of how men who haven't kissed each other do that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzi-lee/he-seems-like-he-wants-to-touch-me-but-we-ve-lost-any-sense-of-how/) [Mackenzi Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzi-lee/) > [Art doesn't want to be familiar. It wants to astonish us. Or, in some cases, to enrage us. It wants to move us. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamake-highwater/art-doesn-t-want-to-be-familiar-it-wants-to-astonish-us-or-in-some/) [Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/) > [If you have a friend with a blond mustache, he wants to touch you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-holmes/if-you-have-a-friend-with-a-blond-mustache-he-wants-to-touch-you/) [Pete Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-holmes/) > [Magnus called me and asked me to come and see you. He tried to reach you, but he couldn’t. 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My body wants that touch baby I miss you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-reinemann/my-heart-longs-for-you-my-sole-needs-you-my-heart-cries-for-you-my/) [Marion Reinemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-reinemann/) > [“Games where someone wants to touch your body where your swimsuit covers or they ask you to touch their body where their swimsuit covers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-byers-ruch/games-where-someone-wants-to-touch-your-body-where-your-swimsuit/) [Carolyn Byers Ruch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-byers-ruch/) > [This is what it means to be loved... when someone wants to touch you, to be tender...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/this-is-what-it-means-to-be-loved-when-someone-wants-to-touch-you-to/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [“Maureen wants to touch you,” Clary said with a sideways grin. “Bad touch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/maureen-wants-to-touch-you-clary-said-with-a-sideways-grin-bad-touch/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“Everybody wants to touch you all the time. I'm the only one who can't when I want to be the only one that can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-calmes/everybody-wants-to-touch-you-all-the-time-i-m-the-only-one-who-can-t/) [MARY CALMES](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-calmes/) > [She wants to touch me, woah.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/3oh-3/she-wants-to-touch-me-woah/) [3OH!3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/3oh-3/) > [4-way stop rules are a piece of cake. You got there first, you go first. Stop waving at me!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/4-way-stop-rules-are-a-piece-of-cake-you-got-there-first-you-go-first/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I got give her game proper. Spit it so she'll get it, there she is I got to stop her!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brown/i-got-give-her-game-proper-spit-it-so-she-ll-get-it-there-she-is-i/) [Chris Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brown/) ## More by W. S. 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Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [I think it's good for anybody to learn languages. Americans are particularly limited in that way. Europeans less so... We're beginning to have Spanish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/i-think-it-s-good-for-anybody-to-learn-languages-americans-are/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [You have to be rather relentless about pushing other things out of the way. This activity of writing, which has no promises attached to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/you-have-to-be-rather-relentless-about-pushing-other-things-out-of/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [Laughter was the shape the darkness took around the first appearance of the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/laughter-was-the-shape-the-darkness-took-around-the-first-appearance/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [In a sense, much that is learned is bound to be bad habits. You're always beginning again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/in-a-sense-much-that-is-learned-is-bound-to-be-bad-habits-you-re/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [I go five steps in the garden, and I immediately lose track of time... it is a kind of joy in being alive in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/i-go-five-steps-in-the-garden-and-i-immediately-lose-track-of-time-it/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [What I really believe is the only hopeful relation between our life and the whole of life is one of reverence and respect and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/what-i-really-believe-is-the-only-hopeful-relation-between-our-life/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [As soon as I could write with a little pencil, I was writing these little hymns and illustrating them, and I thought they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/as-soon-as-i-could-write-with-a-little-pencil-i-was-writing-these/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [There are aspects of human life that are not purely destructive, and there is a need to pay attention to the things around us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/there-are-aspects-of-human-life-that-are-not-purely-destructive-and/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [If there'd been a better-balanced society, where there were other ways of making a decent living, I think it might have been different. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/if-there-d-been-a-better-balanced-society-where-there-were-other-ways/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [We are the shadow of Sirius. There is the other side of - as we talk to each other, we see the light, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/we-are-the-shadow-of-sirius-there-is-the-other-side-of-as-we-talk-to/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [He said you should write about 75 lines every day. You know, Pound was a great one for laying down the law about how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/he-said-you-should-write-about-75-lines-every-day-you-know-pound-was/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) [Explore all 64 W. S. Merwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. 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