--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A sentence starts out like a lone…" description: "\"A sentence starts out like a lone traveler heading into a blizzard at midnight, tilting into the wind, one arm shielding his face, the tails of his thi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ab/billy-collins-3004_arms_a-sentence-starts-out-like-a-lone-travel_2774366.png" --- # A sentence starts out like a lone traveler heading into a… ![“A sentence starts out like a lone traveler heading into a blizzard at midnight, tilting into the wind, one arm shielding his face, the tails of his thin coat flapping behind him.” quote by Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ab/billy-collins-3004_arms_a-sentence-starts-out-like-a-lone-travel_2774366.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ab/billy-collins-3004_arms_a-sentence-starts-out-like-a-lone-travel_2774366.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ab/billy-collins-3004_arms_a-sentence-starts-out-like-a-lone-travel_2774366.png) > “A sentence starts out like a lone traveler heading into a blizzard at midnight, tilting into the wind, one arm shielding his face, the tails of his thin coat flapping behind him.” [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A lone traveler braves a harsh, cold storm, symbolizing perseverance amid adversity. **In simple terms:** Facing a storm alone shows resilience. Key Takeaway Keep moving forward despite hardship. Themes resilience solitude adversity Mood reflective determined Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - winter travel - personal crisis - artistic creation - mental health challenges Key Concepts metaphor human endurance Questions to Reflect On - What storms are you confronting? - How does solitude affect your strength? A Different Perspective The image may romanticize suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arms/) [Behinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behinds/) [Blizzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blizzard/) [Blizzard Midnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blizzard-midnight-3264808/) [Coats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coats/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Flapping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flapping/) [Heading Blizzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heading-blizzard-3264807/) [Headings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/headings/) [Lone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lone/) [Lone Traveler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lone-traveler-3264810/) [Midnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/midnight/) [Sentence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentence/) [Sentence Starts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentence-starts-3264809/) [Sentences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences/) [Tails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tails/) [Traveler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traveler/) [Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wind/) ## Related quotes > [I am truly a "lone traveler" and have never belonged to my country, my home, my friends, or even my immediate family, with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-am-truly-a-lone-traveler-and-have-never-belonged-to-my-country-my/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted oddly with my pronounced lack of need for direct contact with other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/my-passionate-sense-of-social-justice-and-social-responsibility-has/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“A bird cannot fly upward if each wing is flapping in a different direction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/a-bird-cannot-fly-upward-if-each-wing-is-flapping-in-a-different/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [As those who have seen Jurassic Park will know, this means a tiny disturbance in one place, can cause a major change in another.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/as-those-who-have-seen-jurassic-park-will-know-this-means-a-tiny/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [An author, like any other so-called artist, is a man in whom the normal vanity of all men is so vastly exaggerated that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-author-like-any-other-so-called-artist-is-a-man-in-whom-the-normal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Like I could take a nap at 4:15 p.m. and then I'll wake up twenty minutes later and have absolutely no clue where I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-showalter/like-i-could-take-a-nap-at-4-15-p-m-and-then-i-ll-wake-up-twenty/) [Michael Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-showalter/) > [“The unhinged jaw of a nepatrox mouth—with the wide flaps to either side flapping away—greeted him through the window. The beast had climbed up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-foehner-wells/the-unhinged-jaw-of-a-nepatrox-mouth-with-the-wide-flaps-to-either/) [Jennifer Foehner Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-foehner-wells/) > [Snapshots, moments, mere seconds: as fragile and beautiful and hopeless as a single butterfly, flapping on against a gathering wind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/snapshots-moments-mere-seconds-as-fragile-and-beautiful-and-hopeless/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [I was awakened at midnight by some heavy, low-flying bird, probably a loon, flapping by close over my head, along the shore. So, turning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-was-awakened-at-midnight-by-some-heavy-low-flying-bird-probably-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Fractal litigation, whereby the flapping of a butterfly’s wings on one side of the world resulted in a massive compensation claim on the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-aylett/fractal-litigation-whereby-the-flapping-of-a-butterfly-s-wings-on-one/) [Steve Aylett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-aylett/) > [Here in this ocean, in the midst of all this water, with the red flags on those distant buoys flapping in the sea breeze,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/here-in-this-ocean-in-the-midst-of-all-this-water-with-the-red-flags/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [ From the time of Dante \[Alighieri\], when you have the Ptolemaic universe, you had God on the outside like a hypersphere, and then in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/from-the-time-of-dante-alighieri-when-you-have-the-ptolemaic-universe/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [It's awful undermining to the intellect, German is; you want to take it in small doses, or first you know your brains all run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-awful-undermining-to-the-intellect-german-is-you-want-to-take-it/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [But the owls themselves are not hard to find, silent and on the wing, with their ear tufts flat against their heads as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/but-the-owls-themselves-are-not-hard-to-find-silent-and-on-the-wing/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Happiness is excitement that has found a settling down place, but there is always a little corner that keeps flapping around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-is-excitement-that-has-found-a-settling-down-place-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Billy Collins > [“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I think clarity is the real risk in poetry because you are exposed. 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You're actually saying things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-think-clarity-is-the-real-risk-in-poetry-because-you-are-exposed/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [...pleasure, of course, is a slippery word… Our pleasures ultimately belong to us, not to the pleasure's so](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/pleasure-of-course-is-a-slippery-word-our-pleasures-ultimately-belong/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I stared up at the ebbing quarter moon and the stars scattered like a handful of salt across the faraway sky...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-stared-up-at-the-ebbing-quarter-moon-and-the-stars-scattered-like-a/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Death is what makes life fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/death-is-what-makes-life-fun/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [A trouble with poetry is the presence of presumptuousness in poetry, the sense you get in a poem that the poet takes for granted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/a-trouble-with-poetry-is-the-presence-of-presumptuousness-in-poetry/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [You come by your style by learning what to leave out. At first you tend to overwrite—embellishment instead of insight. You either continue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/you-come-by-your-style-by-learning-what-to-leave-out-at-first-you/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [But my heart is always propped up in a field on its tripod, ready for the next arrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/but-my-heart-is-always-propped-up-in-a-field-on-its-tripod-ready-for/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I can hear the library humming in the night, a choir of authors murmuring inside their books along the unlit, alphabetical shelves, Giovanni Pontano…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-can-hear-the-library-humming-in-the-night-a-choir-of-authors/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Every Day Is for the Thief is a vivid, episodic evocation of the truism that you can't go home again; but that doesn't mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/every-day-is-for-the-thief-is-a-vivid-episodic-evocation-of-the/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Humor, for me, is really a gate of departure. Its a way of enticing a reader into a poem so that less funny things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/humor-for-me-is-really-a-gate-of-departure-its-a-way-of-enticing-a/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [You know how sometimes you just have a memory of looking up and seeing a face looking over your crib and then remember nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/you-know-how-sometimes-you-just-have-a-memory-of-looking-up-and/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Usually the poems are written in one sitting. There's always a groping towards some satisfying ending. But I'd say the hardest part is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/usually-the-poems-are-written-in-one-sitting-there-s-always-a-groping/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I was influenced by the Beats because I actually just began to commit adolescence around 1955, when "Howl" and Rebel Without a Cause and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-was-influenced-by-the-beats-because-i-actually-just-began-to-commit/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Some difficulty is warranted and other difficulty I think is gratuitous. And I think I can tell the difference. There are certainly very difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/some-difficulty-is-warranted-and-other-difficulty-i-think-is/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) [Explore all 141 Billy Collins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) ## More Arms quotes > [I genuinely did not expect more than half our nation to choose to walk away from our long-term allies into the arms of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-reade/i-genuinely-did-not-expect-more-than-half-our-nation-to-choose-to/) [Brian Reade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-reade/) > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. There's a reason the right does it and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/preaching-to-the-choir-actually-arms-the-choir-with-arguments-and/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Are we fighting?" I asked Morelli. "No. Were discussing." "Are you sure?" "Am I yelling?" Morelli asked. "Is my face purple? Are the cords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/are-we-fighting-i-asked-morelli-no-were-discussing-are-you-sure-am-i/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Comerado, this is no book,Who touches this, touches a man,(Is it night? Are we here alone?)It is I you hold, and who holds you,I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/comerado-this-is-no-book-who-touches-this-touches-a-man-is-it-night/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Even the stove and the refrigerator looked human, I mean good human - they seemed to have arms and voices and they said, hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/even-the-stove-and-the-refrigerator-looked-human-i-mean-good-human/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. 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Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [How shall freedom be defended? By arms when it is attacked by arms, by truth when it is attacked by lies, by faith when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/how-shall-freedom-be-defended-by-arms-when-it-is-attacked-by-arms-by/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [You don't have to say it out loud. I already know why you like me.' 'You do, huh?' 'Yep.' He wrapped his arms around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/you-don-t-have-to-say-it-out-loud-i-already-know-why-you-like-me-you/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Another step had her backed up against the wall, and he braced his arms on both sides of her. "I'm beginning to look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/another-step-had-her-backed-up-against-the-wall-and-he-braced-his/) [Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/) [Browse all 4,470 Arms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arms/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A sentence starts out like a lone traveler heading into a blizzard at midnight, tilting into the wind, one arm shielding his face, the tails of his thin coat flapping behind him.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Billy Collins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/a-sentence-starts-out-like-a-lone-traveler-heading-into-a-blizzard-at/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arms" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/a-sentence-starts-out-like-a-lone-traveler-heading-into-a-blizzard-at/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ab/billy-collins-3004_arms_a-sentence-starts-out-like-a-lone-travel_2774366.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ab/billy-collins-3004_arms_a-sentence-starts-out-like-a-lone-travel_2774366.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ab/billy-collins-3004_arms_a-sentence-starts-out-like-a-lone-travel_2774366.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A sentence starts out like a lone traveler heading into a blizzard at midnight, tilting into the wind, one…” — Billy Collins", "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": "Billy Collins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A sentence starts out like a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/a-sentence-starts-out-like-a-lone-traveler-heading-into-a-blizzard-at/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/a-sentence-starts-out-like-a-lone-traveler-heading-into-a-blizzard-at/#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 } } ] } ```