But a few moments in the life of time?
This prowling of the cells, litigious love,
Wears the long claw of flesh-arguing crime." - Meaning and context.">
I, from Collected Poems (1970).
“

What is the flesh and blood compounded of
But a few moments in the life of time?
This prowling of the cells, litigious love,
Wears the long claw of flesh-arguing crime.

— Allen Tate

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "What is the flesh and blood compounded of
But a few moments in the life of time?
This prowling of the cells, litigious love,
Wears the long claw of flesh-arguing crime." in the context of "I, from Collected Poems (1970)." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Allen Tate" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Allen Tate

About Allen Tate

John Orley Allen Tate (November 19, 1899 – February 9, 1979) was an American poet, essayist, and social commentator, and Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, 1943–1944.