A small wooden door stands ajar with warm golden light and a pale feather visible in the opening against dark blue.

Original artwork, not a still

Christopher Morley

The courage of the poet is to keep ajar the door that leads into madness.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The poet's courage is pictured as keeping a door to madness slightly open. The image suggests a willingness to remain near unsettling possibilities without describing a full passage through them. Its force comes from making creativity a deliberate relationship with a disturbing threshold.

Context reviewed

Share this quote