--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On the hill behind her crows flew one by…" description: "\"“On the hill behind her crows flew one by one into the bare trees, arranging their dark blots in the scrim of branches and adding their warnings to the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a7/barbara-kingsolver-200_bare-trees_on-the-hill-behind-her-crows-flew-one-by_690579.jpg" --- # On the hill behind her crows flew one by one into the bare… ![“On the hill behind her crows flew one by one into the bare trees, arranging their dark blots in the scrim of branches and adding their warnings to the drear sounds of this day. Gone, gone, they rasped. Here was a dead world learning to speak in dissonant, unbearable sounds.” quote by Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a7/barbara-kingsolver-200_bare-trees_on-the-hill-behind-her-crows-flew-one-by_690579.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a7/barbara-kingsolver-200_bare-trees_on-the-hill-behind-her-crows-flew-one-by_690579.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a7/barbara-kingsolver-200_bare-trees_on-the-hill-behind-her-crows-flew-one-by_690579.jpg) > ““On the hill behind her crows flew one by one into the bare trees, arranging their dark blots in the scrim of branches and adding their warnings to the drear sounds of this day. Gone, gone, they rasped. Here was a dead world learning to speak in dissonant, unbearable sounds.”” [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A bleak landscape is described through ominous crows, symbolizing warning and the emergence of painful truth. **In simple terms:** Crows signal warning in a dying world. Key Takeaway Listen to unsettling signs. Themes nature warning despair awakening Mood somber reflective poetic Type literary descriptive metaphorical When to use this quote - grief counseling - environmental activism - creative writing - mental health awareness Key Concepts symbolism environment psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you interpret warning signs in your life? - What does “dead world” mean to you? A Different Perspective The metaphor may over‑dramaticize nature's role in human sorrow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bare trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bare-trees-14917/) [Crows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crows/) [Crows Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crows-flew-5487972/) [Hill Crows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hill-crows-5487974/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Rasped Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rasped-dead-5487973/) ## Related quotes > [ “\[...\] a sigh fit for the pillow, the sinking firelight, and a bedroom window open to the stars and the whisper of bare trees.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/a-sigh-fit-for-the-pillow-the-sinking-firelight-and-a-bedroom-window/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [Old age is a flight of small cheeping birds skimming bare trees above a snow glaze. Gaining and failing they are buffeted by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/old-age-is-a-flight-of-small-cheeping-birds-skimming-bare-trees-above-2/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [Old age is a flight of small cheeping birds skimming bare trees above a snow glaze.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/old-age-is-a-flight-of-small-cheeping-birds-skimming-bare-trees-above/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [“He smoked a pipe, and Laroche, who indulged in neither tobacco nor spirits, simply sat upright in his chair and looked toward the quince…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-brown/he-smoked-a-pipe-and-laroche-who-indulged-in-neither-tobacco-nor/) [Eli Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-brown/) > [“Because they did not burn the land with the same skill and frequency as its previous occupants, the forests grew thicker. Left untended, maize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/because-they-did-not-burn-the-land-with-the-same-skill-and-frequency/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [But the positive thoughts would give way to negative thoughts, and the negative thoughts seemed to swoop into her mind the way a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/but-the-positive-thoughts-would-give-way-to-negative-thoughts-and-the/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [Our minds are like crows. They pick up everything that glitters, no matter how uncomfortable our nests get with all that metal in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/our-minds-are-like-crows-they-pick-up-everything-that-glitters-no/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Crows appear in many of my new unpublished poems. In these walks, they take on a symbolic life apart from their irritating, undeniable, interruptive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/crows-appear-in-many-of-my-new-unpublished-poems-in-these-walks-they/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [If you want to fly with the eagles you can't hang out with the crows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brock-lesnar/if-you-want-to-fly-with-the-eagles-you-can-t-hang-out-with-the-crows/) [Brock Lesnar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brock-lesnar/) > [Paraphrased: When Chuang Tzu was about to die, his disciples began planning a splendid funeral. However some disciples expressed concern that given a particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/paraphrased-when-chuang-tzu-was-about-to-die-his-disciples-began/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [One of the pleasures of the original 'Grimm's Fairy Tales' is how incredibly ghastly they are. The ugly sisters have their eyes pecked out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gatiss/one-of-the-pleasures-of-the-original-grimm-s-fairy-tales-is-how/) [Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) > [“They were halfway across the road when a birdcall tugged her back, pulling at some strange, secret part of her. A crow, she thought,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emilia-hart/they-were-halfway-across-the-road-when-a-birdcall-tugged-her-back/) [Emilia Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emilia-hart/) > [You know, all is development. The principle is perpetually going on. First, there was nothing, then there was something; then-I forget the next-I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/you-know-all-is-development-the-principle-is-perpetually-going-on/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/crows-pick-out-the-eyes-of-the-dead-when-the-dead-have-no-longer-need/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“The Crows of the region could have told them that there are almost always more Crows around them than they can see; but like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/the-crows-of-the-region-could-have-told-them-that-there-are-almost/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) ## More by Barbara Kingsolver > [“Jesus was a more reliable backer, evidently, less likely to drink himself unconscious or get liver cancer. No wonder people chose Him as their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/jesus-was-a-more-reliable-backer-evidently-less-likely-to-drink/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Now I'm starting to think he wasn't supposed to be my whole life, he was just this doorway to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/now-i-m-starting-to-think-he-wasn-t-supposed-to-be-my-whole-life-he/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Cooking is 80 percent confidence, a skill best acquired starting from when the apron strings wrap around you twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/cooking-is-80-percent-confidence-a-skill-best-acquired-starting-from/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“In Bobby Ogle's version of heaven everyone would wind up in one place, criminals and Muslims included.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/in-bobby-ogle-s-version-of-heaven-everyone-would-wind-up-in-one-place/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Weeds are job security for the gardener.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/weeds-are-job-security-for-the-gardener/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“It's what you do that makes your soul, not the other way around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/it-s-what-you-do-that-makes-your-soul-not-the-other-way-around/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Lusa turned to Crys, her eyes shining. "That was a luna." Crys shrugged. "So?" "So? So what? You want it should sing, too?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/lusa-turned-to-crys-her-eyes-shining-that-was-a-luna-crys-shrugged-so/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [The strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-strength-of-motherhood-is-greater-than-natural-laws/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“An imperfectly remembered life is a useless treachery. Every day, more fragments of the past roll around heavily in the chambers of an empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/an-imperfectly-remembered-life-is-a-useless-treachery-every-day-more/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Respecting the dignity of a spectacular food means enjoying it at its best. Europeans celebrate the short season of abundant asparagus as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/respecting-the-dignity-of-a-spectacular-food-means-enjoying-it-at-its/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Somehow it had come to pass that this man was her whole world, and she had failed to take his measure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/somehow-it-had-come-to-pass-that-this-man-was-her-whole-world-and-she/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [After 'The Poisonwood Bible' was published, several people believed that my parents were missionaries, which could not be further from the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/after-the-poisonwood-bible-was-published-several-people-believed-that/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I can count all the ways in which being a mother has enriched my understanding of the world, of character, my sense of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-can-count-all-the-ways-in-which-being-a-mother-has-enriched-my/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [But we've all ended up giving body and soul to Africa, one way or another. Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [If the Lord hasn't got a boyfriend lined up for me to marry, that's his business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-the-lord-hasn-t-got-a-boyfriend-lined-up-for-me-to-marry-that-s/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) [Explore all 939 Barbara Kingsolver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## More Bare trees quotes > [“Because they did not burn the land with the same skill and frequency as its previous occupants, the forests grew thicker. Left untended, maize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/because-they-did-not-burn-the-land-with-the-same-skill-and-frequency/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [“He smoked a pipe, and Laroche, who indulged in neither tobacco nor spirits, simply sat upright in his chair and looked toward the quince…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-brown/he-smoked-a-pipe-and-laroche-who-indulged-in-neither-tobacco-nor/) [Eli Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-brown/) > [Old age is a flight of small cheeping birds skimming bare trees above a snow glaze.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/old-age-is-a-flight-of-small-cheeping-birds-skimming-bare-trees-above/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [Old age is a flight of small cheeping birds skimming bare trees above a snow glaze. Gaining and failing they are buffeted by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/old-age-is-a-flight-of-small-cheeping-birds-skimming-bare-trees-above-2/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [ “\[...\] a sigh fit for the pillow, the sinking firelight, and a bedroom window open to the stars and the whisper of bare trees.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/a-sigh-fit-for-the-pillow-the-sinking-firelight-and-a-bedroom-window/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) [Browse all 6 Bare trees quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bare-trees-14917/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“On the hill behind her crows flew one by one into the bare trees, arranging their dark blots in the scrim of branches and adding their warnings to the drear sounds of this day. Gone, gone, they rasped. 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