In reflecting on his relationship with Monroe , Miller wrote , `` She was a whirling light to me then , all paradox and enticing mystery , street-tough one moment , then lifted by a lyrical and poetic sensitivity that few retain past early adolescence . '' In reflecting on his courtship of Monroe , Miller wrote , `` She was a whirling light to me then , all paradox and enticing mystery , street-tough one moment , then lifted by a lyrical and poetic sensitivity that few retain past early adolescence . ''