To forge an untouchable, invulnerable identity is actually a sign of retreat from this world; of weakness, a sign of fear rather than strength, and betrays a strange misunderstandin g of an abiding, foundational and necessary reality: that untouched, we disappear.

— David Whyte

David Whyte Quotes

Vulnerability is not a weakness but a faculty for understanding.

— David Whyte

Poetry is the art of overhearing ourselves say things from which it is impossible to retreat.

— David Whyte

There’s a fierce practicality and empiricism which the whole imaginative, lyrical aspect of poetry comes from.

— David Whyte

It might be liberating to think of human life as informed by losses and disappearances as much as by gifted appearances, allowing a more present participation and witness to the difficulty of living.

— David Whyte

Poetry is a street fighter. It has sharp elbows. It can look after itself. Poetry can’t be used for manipulation; it’s why you never see good poetry in advertising.

— David Whyte

By definition, poetry works with qualities and dynamics that mainstream society is reluctant to face head-on. It’s an interesting phenomenon that by necessity, poetry is just below the radar.

— David Whyte

A soul-based workplace asks things of me that I didn’t even know I had. It’s constantly telling me that I belong to something large in the world.

— David Whyte

Being a good parent will necessarily break our hearts as we watch a child grow and eventually choose their own way, even through many of the same heartbreaks we have traversed.

— David Whyte

Poetry is a break for freedom.

— David Whyte

It is the province of poetry to be more realistic and present than the artificial narratives of an outer discourse, and not afraid of the truthful difficulty of the average human life.

— David Whyte

The outlaw is the radical, the one close to the roots of existence. The one who refuses to forget their humanity and, in remembering, helps everyone else remember, too.

— David Whyte

Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.

— David Whyte

A real conversation always contains an invitation. You are inviting another person to reveal herself or himself to you, to tell you who they are or what they want.

— David Whyte

The great poems are not about experience, but are the experience itself, felt in the body.

— David Whyte

Poetry is often the art of overhearing yourself say things you didn’t know you knew. It is a learned skill to force yourself to articulate your life, your present world or your possibilities for the future.

— David Whyte

Honesty is reached through the doorway of grief and loss.

— David Whyte

A good poem looks life straight in the face, unflinching, sincere, equal to revelation through loss or gain.

— David Whyte

If I don’t have time for the writing, it’s because I’m not making that time. It’s really just a question of whether you want to or not, whether you feel you deserve to write or not.

— David Whyte

The fear of loss, in one form or another, is the motivator behind all conscious and unconscious dishonesties.

— David Whyte

A good poem has its own life. It’s like bringing a child into the world. You, the poet, birthed the child, but the child will surprise you continually. I think a work of art has its own aliveness, its own future.

— David Whyte
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