In times of joy, all of us wished we possessed a tail we could wag.

Quote by W H Auden

Topics: W H Auden Quotes

The countenances of children, like those of animals, are masks, not faces, for they have...

The countenances of children, like those of animals, are masks, not faces, for they have...

Fame often makes a writer vain, but seldom makes him proud.

Fame often makes a writer vain, but seldom makes him proud.

I sit in one of the dives On Fifty-Second Street Uncertain and afraid As the...

I sit in one of the dives On Fifty-Second Street Uncertain and afraid As the...

We all have these places where shy humiliations gambol on sunny afternoons.

We all have these places where shy humiliations gambol on sunny afternoons.

We are not commanded (or forbidden) to love our mates, our children, our friends, our...

We are not commanded (or forbidden) to love our mates, our children, our friends, our...

Good can imagine Evil; but Evil cannot imagine Good.

Good can imagine Evil; but Evil cannot imagine Good.

My face looks like a wedding-cake left out in the rain.

My face looks like a wedding-cake left out in the rain.

Men will pay large sums to whores for telling them they are not bores.

Men will pay large sums to whores for telling them they are not bores.

When I find myself in the company of scientists, I feel like a shabby curate...

When I find myself in the company of scientists, I feel like a shabby curate...

You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at.

You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at.

He was my North, my South, my East and West.

He was my North, my South, my East and West.

A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.

A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.

All sins tend to be addictive, and the terminal point of addiction is damnation.

All sins tend to be addictive, and the terminal point of addiction is damnation.

Music is the best means we have of digesting time.

Music is the best means we have of digesting time.

To save your world you asked this man to die; would this man, could he...

To save your world you asked this man to die; would this man, could he...

I know nothing, except what everyone knows if there when Graces dances, I should dance.

I know nothing, except what everyone knows if there when Graces dances, I should dance.

Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out...

Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out...

It's frightening how easy it is to commit murder in America. Just a drink too...

It's frightening how easy it is to commit murder in America. Just a drink too...

A real book is not one that we read, but one that reads us.

A real book is not one that we read, but one that reads us.

Sob, heavy world Sob as you spin, Mantled in mist Remote from the happy.

Sob, heavy world Sob as you spin, Mantled in mist Remote from the happy.