--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: DISTRACTED with care For Phillis the…" description: "\"“DISTRACTED with care For Phillis the fair, Since nothing could move her, Poor Damon, her lover, Resolves in despair No longer to languish Nor bear so ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/533/william-walsh-65194_anger_distracted-with-care-for-phillis-the-fai_2448139.jpg" --- # DISTRACTED with care For Phillis the fair, Since nothing… ![“DISTRACTED with care For Phillis the fair, Since nothing could move her, Poor Damon, her lover, Resolves in despair No longer to languish Nor bear so much anguish; But, mad with his love, To a precipice goes, Where a leap from above Would soon finish his woes. When in rage he came there, Beholding…” quote by William Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/533/william-walsh-65194_anger_distracted-with-care-for-phillis-the-fai_2448139.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/533/william-walsh-65194_anger_distracted-with-care-for-phillis-the-fai_2448139.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/533/william-walsh-65194_anger_distracted-with-care-for-phillis-the-fai_2448139.jpg) > ““DISTRACTED with care For Phillis the fair, Since nothing could move her, Poor Damon, her lover, Resolves in despair No longer to languish Nor bear so much anguish; But, mad with his love, To a precipice goes, Where a leap from above Would soon finish his woes. When in rage he came there, Beholding how steep The sides did appear, And the bottom how deep; His torments projecting, And sadly reflecting That a lover forsaken A new love may get, But a neck when once broken can never be set: And that he could die Whenever he would, But that he could live But as long as he could: How grievous soever The torment might grow, He scorned to endeavour To finish it so; And bold, unconcerned At thoughts of the pain, He calmly returned To his cottage again.”” William Walsh ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A lover, driven by despair, contemplates suicide but ultimately chooses to return home, reflecting the conflict between impulsive despair and lingering attachment. **In simple terms:** Despair leads to dark thoughts, yet love pulls him back. Key Takeaway Acknowledge pain but seek support. Themes love despair mental health resilience Mood melancholic reflective Type poetic dramatic When to use this quote - relationship crisis - mental health crisis - personal reflection Key Concepts suicidal ideation attachment emotional conflict Questions to Reflect On - How do you cope with overwhelming sorrow? - What supports can prevent impulsive actions? A Different Perspective The poem romanticizes despair without offering help. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Anguish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anguish/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [New Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-love/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [Sorrow, terror, anguish, despair itself are often the chosen expressions of an approximation to the highest good. 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So I very much welcome, you know, new love interests and dating and friends and family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-solo/i-need-a-life-outside-of-soccer-so-i-very-much-welcome-you-know-new/) [Hope Solo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-solo/) > [“Life in the movie business is like the beginning of a new love affair: it's full of surprises, and you're constantly getting fucked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/life-in-the-movie-business-is-like-the-beginning-of-a-new-love-affair/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“I forgot what we were celebrating. Because we were always celebrating something, a new job, a new poem, a new love, a new dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-forgot-what-we-were-celebrating-because-we-were-always-celebrating/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“love: a chemical history. ...The second stage, attraction, is governed by dopamine and serotonin. When, for example, couples report feeling indescribably happy in each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/love-a-chemical-history-the-second-stage-attraction-is-governed-by/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [I have found new love, like i've never known before. I find myself waiting for you, in desperation and in hope. You have told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-found-new-love-like-i-ve-never-known-before-i-find-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no fury like a woman searching for a new lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/there-is-no-fury-like-a-woman-searching-for-a-new-lover/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) ## More by William Walsh > [Patrick White is a strongly individual, richly gifted, original and highly significant writer whose powers are remarkable and whose achievement is large. His art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-walsh/patrick-white-is-a-strongly-individual-richly-gifted-original-and/) William Walsh > [I can endure my own despair, but not another's hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-walsh/i-can-endure-my-own-despair-but-not-another-s-hope/) William Walsh > [“Of all the plagues a lover bears, Sure rivals are the worst I can endure my own despair, But not another’s hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-walsh/of-all-the-plagues-a-lover-bears-sure-rivals-are-the-worst-i-can/) William Walsh Explore all 4 William Walsh quotes ## More Anger quotes > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. 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As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“DISTRACTED with care For Phillis the fair, Since nothing could move her, Poor Damon, her lover, Resolves in despair No longer to languish Nor bear so much anguish; But, mad with his love, To a precipice goes, Where a leap from above Would soon finish his woes. 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