---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The streets are empty. Wind skims the…"
description: "\"“The streets are empty. Wind skims the voids keeping neighbors apart, as if grazing the hollow of a cut reed, or say, a plundered mailbox. A familiar n..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/andrew-hussie-21374_desolation_the-streets-are-empty-wind-skims-the-voi_1639639.png"
---

#  The streets are empty. Wind skims the voids keeping…

![“The streets are empty. Wind skims the voids keeping neighbors apart, as if grazing the hollow of a cut reed, or say, a plundered mailbox. A familiar note is produced. It's the one Desolation plays to keep its instrument in tune.” quote by Andrew Hussie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/andrew-hussie-21374_desolation_the-streets-are-empty-wind-skims-the-voi_1639639.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/andrew-hussie-21374_desolation_the-streets-are-empty-wind-skims-the-voi_1639639.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/andrew-hussie-21374_desolation_the-streets-are-empty-wind-skims-the-voi_1639639.png)

> ““The streets are empty. Wind skims the voids keeping neighbors apart, as if grazing the hollow of a cut reed, or say, a plundered mailbox. A familiar note is produced. It's the one Desolation plays to keep its instrument in tune.””

[Andrew Hussie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hussie/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Desolation creates a haunting soundtrack, reflecting emptiness and isolation in a broken world.

**In simple terms:** Empty spaces produce eerie sounds.

Key Takeaway

Listen to silence for hidden meaning.

Themes

loneliness desolation soundscape metaphor art

Mood

melancholic reflective artistic

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- Writing poetry
- designing games
- visual art
- therapeutic reflection

Key Concepts

Existential emptiness psychological atmosphere creative expression

Questions to Reflect On

- What does the silence reveal about inner states?
- How can we transform desolation into growth?

A Different Perspective

May romanticize despair, ignoring hope.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Desolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desolation/) [Foreshadowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreshadowing/)

## Related quotes

> [“What came next is very hard to tell. Indeed, I have told it but once before, when I needed to, and I will tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliet-marillier/what-came-next-is-very-hard-to-tell-indeed-i-have-told-it-but-once/)

[Juliet Marillier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliet-marillier/)

> [There is no permanent status quo in nature; all is the process of adjustment and readjustment, or else eventual failure. But man is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-joseph-muller/there-is-no-permanent-status-quo-in-nature-all-is-the-process-of/)

[Hermann Joseph Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-joseph-muller/)

> [“My phone rang, and although it wasn't a sinister time of night, and although nothing had happened that I would later see as foreshadowing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/my-phone-rang-and-although-it-wasn-t-a-sinister-time-of-night-and/)

[Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/)

> [“Rozanov seemed to consider this. "Is good. What you did. It will be good for...others." There was something in Rozanov's eyes that caught Scott's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/game-changer-rachel-reid/rozanov-seemed-to-consider-this-is-good-what-you-did-it-will-be-good/)

Game Changer Rachel Reid

> [“Then there was The House of Future Needs, an old pawn shop that engaged in the sale of utterly useless trinkets. Except, of course,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-blackwick/then-there-was-the-house-of-future-needs-an-old-pawn-shop-that/)

[Louise Blackwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-blackwick/)

> [“If at that moment Clement had caught sight of the dog and had managed to capture him, the fates of a number of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/if-at-that-moment-clement-had-caught-sight-of-the-dog-and-had-managed/)

[Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/)

> [“The ghosts of our past have come to haunt us at last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-a-franklin/the-ghosts-of-our-past-have-come-to-haunt-us-at-last/)

Lindsay A. Franklin

> [“Queer, how I misinterpreted the designations of doom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/queer-how-i-misinterpreted-the-designations-of-doom/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“A shell in the pit," said I, "if the worst comes to worst will kill them all." The intense excitement of the events had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/a-shell-in-the-pit-said-i-if-the-worst-comes-to-worst-will-kill-them/)

[H.G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-2/)

> [ “Foreshadowings of the principles and even of the language of \[the infinitesimal\] calculus can be found in the writings of Napier , Kepler ,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/foreshadowings-of-the-principles-and-even-of-the-language-of-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“As you and I listen to Uncle Monty tell the three Baudelaire orphans that no harm will ever come to them in the Reptile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/as-you-and-i-listen-to-uncle-monty-tell-the-three-baudelaire-orphans/)

[Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/)

> [“As she fell, Esther wasn’t worried about being blown off course and plummeting into the rocks below. She wasn’t worried about hitting the shallows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krystal-sutherland/as-she-fell-esther-wasn-t-worried-about-being-blown-off-course-and/)

[Krystal Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krystal-sutherland/)

> [“Maurice laid down all of his cards, then said, Gin. Reginald looked up into Maurice's face and said, I thought we were playing poker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-b-truant/maurice-laid-down-all-of-his-cards-then-said-gin-reginald-looked-up/)

[Johnny B. Truant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-b-truant/)

> [“I am very, very sorry to leave you hanging like that, but as I was writing the tale of the Baudelaire orphans, I happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/i-am-very-very-sorry-to-leave-you-hanging-like-that-but-as-i-was/)

[Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/)

> [Beware the ides of March.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/beware-the-ides-of-march/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

## More by Andrew Hussie

> [“Also, SKULLS. Gosh you love SKULLS. There is a good SKULL at the heart of any mystery, haunting its EVERY PAGE. That is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hussie/also-skulls-gosh-you-love-skulls-there-is-a-good-skull-at-the-heart/)

[Andrew Hussie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hussie/)

> [“This is exactly why babies should not be allowed to dual-wield flintlock pistols.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hussie/this-is-exactly-why-babies-should-not-be-allowed-to-dual-wield/)

[Andrew Hussie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hussie/)

> [“CG: ATTENTION WORTHLESS HUMAN. CG: THIS IS YOUR GOD SPEAKING. CG: IT IS A WRATHFUL GOD WHO DESPISES YOU MORE THAN YOU COULD HAVE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hussie/cg-attention-worthless-human-cg-this-is-your-god-speaking-cg-it-is-a/)

[Andrew Hussie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hussie/)

> [“GAMZEE: honk. KARKAT: WHAT. GAMZEE: HONK. KARKAT: WHAT DOES HONK MEAN THIS TIME YOU WHIMSICAL PIECE OF SHIT?????”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hussie/gamzee-honk-karkat-what-gamzee-honk-karkat-what-does-honk-mean-this/)

[Andrew Hussie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hussie/)

> [“I slept and saw God's forge in frost. Its hearth was quelled, and as it cooled so swooned the verdancy it kept above. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hussie/i-slept-and-saw-god-s-forge-in-frost-its-hearth-was-quelled-and-as-it/)

[Andrew Hussie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hussie/)

> [Do you know how much power I have over you? Yes, you, the one just sitting there hitting the f5 button day in and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hussie/do-you-know-how-much-power-i-have-over-you-yes-you-the-one-just/)

[Andrew Hussie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hussie/)

> [You understand reality while everyone else is running around confused and angry and upset because they think reality is something happening to them rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hussie/you-understand-reality-while-everyone-else-is-running-around-confused/)

[Andrew Hussie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hussie/)

> [I've gotta believe in what my heart tells in me, even if it's a fake thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hussie/i-ve-gotta-believe-in-what-my-heart-tells-in-me-even-if-it-s-a-fake/)

[Andrew Hussie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hussie/)

> [“ROSE: I think I've spent too much time around Dave. ROSE: I've also probably spent too much time sharing his genes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hussie/rose-i-think-i-ve-spent-too-much-time-around-dave-rose-i-ve-also/)

[Andrew Hussie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hussie/)

> [“We will snatch purpose from the jaws of futility.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hussie/we-will-snatch-purpose-from-the-jaws-of-futility/)

[Andrew Hussie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hussie/)

> [“Your grandma always was an advocate of thorough preparedness. She would strongly advise staying not only armed to the teeth, but well equipped in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hussie/your-grandma-always-was-an-advocate-of-thorough-preparedness-she/)

[Andrew Hussie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hussie/)

> [“You were afraid this might be the case. Your dad has blocked the front door with the REFRIGERATOR. Looks like he's taking the grounding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hussie/you-were-afraid-this-might-be-the-case-your-dad-has-blocked-the-front/)

[Andrew Hussie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hussie/)

> [“You come to the sobering realization that things will never stop from keep happening constantly”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hussie/you-come-to-the-sobering-realization-that-things-will-never-stop-from/)

[Andrew Hussie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hussie/)

> [“But aside from a few migraines, you can't possibly imagine any OBEY drawbacks that CEASE REPRODUCTION could come with SUBMIT merging CONSUME your thoughts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hussie/but-aside-from-a-few-migraines-you-can-t-possibly-imagine-any-obey/)

[Andrew Hussie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hussie/)

> [“I will never write anything better than Homestuck. Nigger farts! Jews: Kill them all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hussie/i-will-never-write-anything-better-than-homestuck-nigger-farts-jews/)

[Andrew Hussie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hussie/)

[Explore all 29 Andrew Hussie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hussie/)

## More Desolation quotes

> [“A sense of desolation settled within me: a cold, slimy stone lodged under my lungs. There was nothing happy about the woods, I thought,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-davidson/a-sense-of-desolation-settled-within-me-a-cold-slimy-stone-lodged/)

[Craig Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-davidson/)

> [“ Desolation would not be the proper word to describe his feelings now; it was more the sense of emptiness he imagined he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shusaku-endo/desolation-would-not-be-the-proper-word-to-describe-his-feelings-now/)

[Shusaku Endo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shusaku-endo/)

> [“Then think of fire, It’s laughter, the music of splintering beams and glass, The flames reaching through the second story of a house almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-levis/then-think-of-fire-it-s-laughter-the-music-of-splintering-beams-and/)

[Larry Levis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-levis/)

> [They create a desolation and call it peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calgacus/they-create-a-desolation-and-call-it-peace/)

Calgacus

> [There are houses in certain provincial towns whose aspect inspires melancholy, akin to that called forth by sombre cloisters, dreary moorlands, or the desolation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/there-are-houses-in-certain-provincial-towns-whose-aspect-inspires/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [The Death of the contemporary forms of social order ought to gladden rather than trouble the soul. Yet what is frightening is that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-herzen/the-death-of-the-contemporary-forms-of-social-order-ought-to-gladden/)

[Alexander Herzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-herzen/)

> [The fountain of my heart dried up within me,-- With nought that loved me, and with nought to love, I stood upon the desert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-robert-maturin/the-fountain-of-my-heart-dried-up-within-me-with-nought-that-loved-me/)

[Charles Robert Maturin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-robert-maturin/)

> [All consolation that does not come from God is but desolation; when the soul has learned to receive no comfort but in God only,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/all-consolation-that-does-not-come-from-god-is-but-desolation-when/)

[Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/)

> [“I am back in my beloved city. The scene of desolation fills my eyes with tears. At every step my distress and agitation increases.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khushwant-singh/i-am-back-in-my-beloved-city-the-scene-of-desolation-fills-my-eyes/)

[Khushwant Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khushwant-singh/)

> [“The effect of this cannot be understood without being there. The beauty of it cannot be understood, either, and when you see beauty in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/the-effect-of-this-cannot-be-understood-without-being-there-the/)

[Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/)

> [Stand in despair anywhere old-growth forest has been clear-felled. All life has been replaced by blackened, poisoned desolation. Animals and birds have either fled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-cundall/stand-in-despair-anywhere-old-growth-forest-has-been-clear-felled-all/)

[Peter Cundall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-cundall/)

> [“Upon him I will visit famine and a fire, Till all around him desolation rings And all the demons in the outer dark Look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/upon-him-i-will-visit-famine-and-a-fire-till-all-around-him/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [Glory falls around us as we sob a dirge of desolation on the Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/glory-falls-around-us-as-we-sob-a-dirge-of-desolation-on-the-cross/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [Poetry has always mattered, through human history, through all kinds of cultures, all kinds of violence and human desolation, as well as periods of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/poetry-has-always-mattered-through-human-history-through-all-kinds-of/)

[Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/)

> [It is a time when one’s spirit is subdued and sad, one knows not why; when the past seems a storm-swept desolation, life a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-a-time-when-one-s-spirit-is-subdued-and-sad-one-knows-not-why/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

[Browse all 198 Desolation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desolation/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“The streets are empty. Wind skims the voids keeping neighbors apart, as if grazing the hollow of a cut reed, or say, a plundered mailbox. A familiar note is produced. It's the one Desolation plays to keep its instrument in tune.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Andrew Hussie"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hussie/the-streets-are-empty-wind-skims-the-voids-keeping-neighbors-apart-as/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Desolation"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hussie/the-streets-are-empty-wind-skims-the-voids-keeping-neighbors-apart-as/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/andrew-hussie-21374_desolation_the-streets-are-empty-wind-skims-the-voi_1639639.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/andrew-hussie-21374_desolation_the-streets-are-empty-wind-skims-the-voi_1639639.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/andrew-hussie-21374_desolation_the-streets-are-empty-wind-skims-the-voi_1639639.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The streets are empty. Wind skims the voids keeping neighbors apart, as if grazing the hollow of a cut reed…” — Andrew Hussie",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Andrew Hussie",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hussie/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“The streets are empty. Wind skims...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hussie/the-streets-are-empty-wind-skims-the-voids-keeping-neighbors-apart-as/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hussie/the-streets-are-empty-wind-skims-the-voids-keeping-neighbors-apart-as/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
