--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But my heart is always propped up in a…" description: "\"But my heart is always propped up in a field on its tripod, ready for the next arrow.\" — Billy Collins" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/058/billy-collins-3004_arrows_but-my-heart-is-always-propped-up-in-a-f_141646.png" --- # But my heart is always propped up in a field on its… ![“But my heart is always propped up in a field on its tripod, ready for the next arrow.” quote by Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/058/billy-collins-3004_arrows_but-my-heart-is-always-propped-up-in-a-f_141646.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/058/billy-collins-3004_arrows_but-my-heart-is-always-propped-up-in-a-f_141646.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/058/billy-collins-3004_arrows_but-my-heart-is-always-propped-up-in-a-f_141646.png) > “But my heart is always propped up in a field on its tripod, ready for the next arrow.” [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. The heart is metaphorically propped like a tripod, ready for future challenges. **In simple terms:** The heart is prepared for upcoming trials. Key Takeaway Stay ready for life’s next challenges. Themes resilience heart preparedness metaphor anticipation Mood steady reflective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - sports - career - personal setbacks Key Concepts vulnerability strength readiness Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance readiness and relaxation? - What supports your emotional stability? A Different Perspective Over‑preparation can cause anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Tripods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tripods/) ## Related quotes > [It would have been possible to structure my photographs in such a way that no indicators of the present were discernible. 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It's be bad enough without the complication of a feudal trade culture which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/in-politics-the-tripod-is-he-most-unstable-of-all-structures-it-s-be/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [I'm too impatient to use a tripod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-gibson/i-m-too-impatient-to-use-a-tripod/) [Ralph Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-gibson/) > [...photographers who carry 60 pounds of equipment up a hill to photograph a view are not suffering enough, although their whining causes enough suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-jay/photographers-who-carry-60-pounds-of-equipment-up-a-hill-to/) [Bill Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-jay/) > [My preference is that, that day when someone sticks a tripod in front of you with a camera on the top, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-day-lewis/my-preference-is-that-that-day-when-someone-sticks-a-tripod-in-front/) [Daniel Day-Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-day-lewis/) > [When I got the camera on the shoulder, they give me a nickname. They call me 'the tripod' because I'm kind of short and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-besson/when-i-got-the-camera-on-the-shoulder-they-give-me-a-nickname-they/) [Luc Besson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-besson/) > [Had a blast last night at the Tripod, such a great club and the crowd always give you so much energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-digweed/had-a-blast-last-night-at-the-tripod-such-a-great-club-and-the-crowd/) [John Digweed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-digweed/) > [At first, when I did everything myself, I'd set up a tripod, film and then press stop. That's why all my shots are on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-ziqi/at-first-when-i-did-everything-myself-i-d-set-up-a-tripod-film-and/) [Li Ziqi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-ziqi/) > [“Thanks, tripod," Eric said… "Tripod?" Jace asked. "As hung as you are, you practically have three legs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-cunning/thanks-tripod-eric-said-tripod-jace-asked-as-hung-as-you-are-you/) [Olivia Cunning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-cunning/) > [For suppose that every tool we had could perform its task, either at our bidding or itself perceiving the need, and if-like the statues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/for-suppose-that-every-tool-we-had-could-perform-its-task-either-at/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Africa - You can see a sunset and believe you have witnessed the Hand of God. You watch the slope lope of a lioness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/africa-you-can-see-a-sunset-and-believe-you-have-witnessed-the-hand/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Some cameras are heavier and need to be on tripods. Others are small enough to hide in your pocket. There are places where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/some-cameras-are-heavier-and-need-to-be-on-tripods-others-are-small/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [ I once recommended \[in a San Francisco Chronicle column\] that a third arm - a plastic arm - be sewn at the base of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/i-once-recommended-in-a-san-francisco-chronicle-column-that-a-third/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/and-now-was-acknowledged-the-presence-of-the-red-death-he-had-come/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) ## 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. You're out in the open field. 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/) > [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/) > [“But earlier this week on a wooded path, I thought the swans afloat on the reservoir were the true geniuses, the ones who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/but-earlier-this-week-on-a-wooded-path-i-thought-the-swans-afloat-on/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) [Explore all 141 Billy Collins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) ## More Arrows quotes > [With the arrival of electric technology, man has extended, or set outside himself, a live model of the central nervous system itself. To the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/with-the-arrival-of-electric-technology-man-has-extended-or-set/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Pure essence, and pure matter, and the two joined into one were shot forth without flaw, like three bright arrows from a three-string bow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/pure-essence-and-pure-matter-and-the-two-joined-into-one-were-shot/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [I did archery when I was in high school. In our gym class we had two weeks of archery, and I remember taking the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrowman/i-did-archery-when-i-was-in-high-school-in-our-gym-class-we-had-two/) [John Barrowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrowman/) > [Game of Thrones. I'm all about it. I watch Arrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-r-mcqueen/game-of-thrones-i-m-all-about-it-i-watch-arrow/) [Steven R. McQueen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-r-mcqueen/) > [I have shot mine arrow o'er the house And hurt my brother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-have-shot-mine-arrow-o-er-the-house-and-hurt-my-brother/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I had a map on my wall that had a circle around Lubbock and then giant arrows pointing toward New York City and Los…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-corbin/i-had-a-map-on-my-wall-that-had-a-circle-around-lubbock-and-then/) [Barry Corbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-corbin/) > [An arrow may fly through the air and leave no trace; but an ill thought leaves a trail like a serpent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mackay/an-arrow-may-fly-through-the-air-and-leave-no-trace-but-an-ill/) [Charles Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mackay/) > [If you shoot an arrow and it goes real high... Hooray for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorian-corey/if-you-shoot-an-arrow-and-it-goes-real-high-hooray-for-you/) [Dorian Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorian-corey/) > [Our present time is indeed a criticizing and critical time, hovering between the wish, and the inability to believe. Our complaints are like arrows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/our-present-time-is-indeed-a-criticizing-and-critical-time-hovering/) [William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) > [You took a poison arrow and you aimed it at my heart. It's heavy and it's bitter, and it's tearing me apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/you-took-a-poison-arrow-and-you-aimed-it-at-my-heart-it-s-heavy-and/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [How long the thick dark clouds can prevent the truth from shining? The truth is an arrow that can pass through any shield!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/how-long-the-thick-dark-clouds-can-prevent-the-truth-from-shining-the/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Vasic said the words on Aden’s tongue. “The Arrows expect mercy from no one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/vasic-said-the-words-on-aden-s-tongue-the-arrows-expect-mercy-from-no/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [Follow your arrow / Wherever it points,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kacey-musgraves/follow-your-arrow-wherever-it-points/) [Kacey Musgraves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kacey-musgraves/) > [If the errors of my life have profited me one great truth it is this: believe. 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