Home / Authors / Sarah Kay

Sarah Kay

Sarah Kay Quotes

Poet

Sarah Kay, born in June 1988, is an accomplished American poet known for her heartfelt and thought-provoking poetry. Her work has gained widespread acclaim for its genuine emotion and profound insight.

Filter quotes by topic

All Writing Ifs People Trying Thinking Way Love Hands Knows Matter

Famous Sarah Kay Quotes

“When words become a poem, it makes sense to me, but I don't know how to explain to someone why the words are the way they are. It's just the logic of the poem to me.”

Knows Way Know How Logic Make Sense

Author:Sarah Kay

“Poetry is like a puzzle-solving strategy for me. I like to poem my way through tricky questions and ideas. That's about the only consistent thread through my poem-creation process.”

Way Ideas Process Creation Strategy My Way Consistent Poetry Is Thread Puzzles Tricky

Author:Sarah Kay

“Poetry makes people nervous. Especially in schools.”

People School Nervous

Author:Sarah Kay

“Nothing is as universal as some good scatalogical humor. Even if it means having to be a little silly or cheeky, I think it is worth it.”

Ifs Thinking Mean Littles Universal Silly Worth It Cheeky

Author:Sarah Kay

“Remember that good things come in threes and so do bad things and always apologize when you've done something wrong but don't you ever apologize for the way your eyes refuse to stop shining.”

Way Done Eye Remember Shining Good Things Refuse Bad Things Apologizing

Author:Sarah Kay

“No matter your wreckage. There will be someone to find you beautiful, despite the cruddy metal. Your ruin is not to be hidden behind paint and canvas. Let them see the cracks. Someone will come to sing into these empty spaces.”

Matter Beautiful Space Behinds Empty Paint Despite Ruins Cracks Metals Canvas Empty Space Wreckage

Author:Sarah Kay

“Because there's nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it's sent away.”

“If I should have a daughter, instead of "Mom," she's going to call me "Point B."”

Ifs Should Mom Daughter Should Have Call Me

Author:Sarah Kay

“Life will hit you hard in the face, wait for you to get back up just so it can kick you in the stomach. But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.”

Way Hard Faces Waiting Air Wind Taste Kicks Get Back Stomach Lungs

Author:Sarah Kay

“You can only fit so many words in a postcard, only so many in a phone call, only so many into space before you forget that words are sometimes used for things other than filling emptiness.”

Sometimes Used Space Forget Fit Phones Emptiness Filling Phone Calls Postcards

Author:Sarah Kay

“My self-confidence can be measured out in teaspoons mixed into my poetry, and it still always tastes funny in my mouth.”

Stills Self Taste Mouths Self Confidence Teaspoons

Author:Sarah Kay

“Such a little thing really, a kiss... most people don't give it a moment's consideration. They kiss on meeting, they kiss on parting, that simple touching of flesh is taken entirely for granted as a basic human right.”

People Giving Humans Littles Moments Simple Taken Kissing Meetings Flesh Granted Consideration Little Things Touching Parting

Author:Sarah Kay

“It does not matter how strong your gravity is, we were always meant to fly.”

Doe Matter Strong Gravity

Author:Sarah Kay

“It is equally important to listen as it is to speak.”

Important Speak

Author:Sarah Kay

“Some people read palms to tell your future, but I read hands to tell your past. Each scar makes a story worth telling. Each callused palm, each cracked knuckle is a missed punch or years in a factory.”

People Years Stories Hands Past Our Future Scar Factories Our Past Palms Your Future Your Past Cracked Knuckles

Author:Sarah Kay

“If I should have a daughter… I’m gonna paint the solar system on the backs of her hands so she has to learn the entire universe before she can say ‘oh I know that like the back of my hand.”

Ifs Knows Should Hands Universe Daughter Should Have Paint Solar System

Author:Sarah Kay

“You are not made of metaphors, Not apologies, not excuses.”

Made Metaphor Excuse Apology

Book:The Type

Source: The Type

“Forgive yourself for the decisions you have made, the ones you still call mistakes when you tuck them in at night.”

Made Stills Night Decision Mistake Forgiving Forgive Yourself

Author:Sarah Kay

“Is there a word for the moment you win tug-of-war? When the weight gives, and all that extra rope comes hurtling towards you, how even though you've won, you still end up with muddy knees and burns on your hands? Is there a word for that? I wish there was.”

Life Giving Stills War Ends Moments Hands Winning Wish Weight Knees Extras Rope Muddy Tug Of War

Author:Sarah Kay

“It’s not just the adage ‘write what you know,’ it’s about gathering up all of the knowledge and experience you’ve collected up to now to help you dive into the things you don’t know.”

Knows Writing Helping Inspiration Motivation Gathering Adages Knowledge And Experience

Author:Sarah Kay

“I use poetry to help me work through what I don’t understand, but I show up to each new poem with a backpack full of everywhere else that I’ve been.”

Helping Use Shows Inspiration Motivation Help Me

Author:Sarah Kay

“This world is made out of sugar. It can crumble so easily but don’t be afraid to stick your tongue out and taste it.”

World Made This World Taste Sticks Tongue Sugar

Author:Sarah Kay

“There is hurt that cannot be fixed by band aids or poetrybecause no matter how wide you stretch your fingers, your hands will always be too small to catch all the pain you want to heal. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

Want Believe Matter Hands Pain Hurt Band Fingers Wide Aids Heal Fixed Believe In Me Band Aid

Author:Sarah Kay

“Hands learn more than minds do, hands learn how to hold other hands.”

Author:Sarah Kay

“But in Hiroshima, some people were wiped clean away, leaving only a wristwatch or a diary page. So no matter that I have inhibitions to fill all my pockets, I keep trying, hoping that one day I'll write a poem I can be proud to let sit in a museum exhibit as the only proof I existed.”

People Writing Trying I Can Matter Lines Proud One Day Pages Clean Leaving Proof Hopeful Pockets Museums Be Proud Diaries Keep Trying Exhibits Poignant Hiroshima Inhibitions

Author:Sarah Kay

“If I should have a daughter, instead of "Mom," she's going to call me "Point B," because that way she knows that no matter what happens, at least she can always find her way to me.”

Ifs Knows Way Should Matter Happens Mom Daughter Should Have No Matter What Call Me

Author:Sarah Kay

“Fingers interlocked like a beautiful accordion of flesh or a zipper of prayer”

Beautiful Prayer Fingers Flesh Accordions Zippers

Author:Sarah Kay

“I want [my daughter] to look at the world through the underside of a glass-bottom boat, to look through a microscope at the galaxies that exist on the pinpoint of a human mind.”

World Want Mind Humans Looks Inspiration Motivation Daughter Bottom Glasses Boat My Daughter Human Mind Galaxy Microscopes

Author:Sarah Kay

“Most days it feels as if the world is whirling around me and I am standing still. In slow motion, I watch the colors blur; people and faces all become a massive wash.”

People Ifs World Feels Stills Faces Watches Color Standing Massive Blur Standing Still Slow Motion

Book:Pieces of Glass: A Moment of Tragedy, a Lifetime of Faith

Source: Pieces of Glass: A Moment of Tragedy, a Lifetime of Faith

“Spoken word teaches that if you have the ability to express yourself and the courage to present those stories and opinions, you could be rewarded with a room full of your peers or your community who will listen.”

Ifs Stories Community Ability Rooms Opinion Teach Peers Express Yourself Spoken Word

Author:Sarah Kay

“They'll be days like this" my momma said. When you open your hands to catch, and wind up with only blisters and bruises. When you try to step out of the phone booth and try to fly , and the very people you want to save, are the ones standing on your cape. When your boots will fill with rain, and you'll be up to your knees with disappointment And those are the very days you have all the more reason to say "Thank you".”

People Want Trying Said Reason Hands Steps Wind Rain Standing Phones Disappointment Knees Boots Bruises Saying Thank You Capes Momma Blisters Phone Booth My Momma Days Like This

Author:Sarah Kay

“There are parts of me I only recognize from photographs.”

Author:Sarah Kay

“Not all poetry wants to be storytelling. And not all storytelling wants to be poetry. But great storytellers and great poets share something in common: They had something to say, and did.”

Want Common Share Poet Storytelling Storyteller Great Poet

Author:Sarah Kay

“I think there is a human instinct to tell stories, no matter who you are or where you live.”

Thinking Humans Matter Stories Who You Are Instinct Where You Live

Author:Sarah Kay

“Artistry is important. Skill, hard work, rewriting, editing, and careful, careful craft: All of these are necessary. These are what separate the beginners from experienced artists.”

Important Hard Artist Hard Work Skills Careful Crafts Editing Artistry Beginners Rewriting

Author:Sarah Kay

About the Author

Born: June 19, 1988
Known for: Poet
Quotes: 85

Related Topics

Writing Ifs People Trying Thinking Way Love Hands Knows Matter

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

No Matter the Wreckage: PoemsRelated source material

The TypeRelated source material

(No Matter the Wreckage) [By: Kay, Sarah] [Mar, 2014]Related source material

Pieces of Glass: A Moment of Tragedy, a Lifetime of FaithRelated source material

Similar Authors

George SaundersBrowse related quotes
Stephen KingBrowse related quotes
Neil GaimanBrowse related quotes
Paul AusterBrowse related quotes
David SedarisBrowse related quotes
Sarah DessenBrowse related quotes
Anne LamottBrowse related quotes
David LevithanBrowse related quotes
Joyce Carol OatesBrowse related quotes
Salman RushdieBrowse related quotes