--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Above us all rose my mother’s hand…" description: "\"“Above us all rose my mother’s hand, dangling from the column shifter like some battle-tattered flag for independence, surrounded by the glass shards a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/bj-ward-42254_american_above-us-all-rose-my-mother-s-hand-dangl_1796391.jpg" --- # Above us all rose my mother’s hand, dangling from the… ![“Above us all rose my mother’s hand, dangling from the column shifter like some battle-tattered flag for independence, surrounded by the glass shards and quietude of a parking lot gone empty. My beautiful mother, safer than ever before, even in defection. ¼ tank of gas, fully empowered, her car…” quote by BJ Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/bj-ward-42254_american_above-us-all-rose-my-mother-s-hand-dangl_1796391.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/bj-ward-42254_american_above-us-all-rose-my-mother-s-hand-dangl_1796391.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/bj-ward-42254_american_above-us-all-rose-my-mother-s-hand-dangl_1796391.jpg) > ““Above us all rose my mother’s hand, dangling from the column shifter like some battle-tattered flag for independence, surrounded by the glass shards and quietude of a parking lot gone empty. My beautiful mother, safer than ever before, even in defection. ¼ tank of gas, fully empowered, her car pointed in every direction.”” [BJ Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bj-ward/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A mother’s protective presence stands out amid a desolate, shattered urban landscape, symbolizing resilience and independence. **In simple terms:** Mother’s strength shines in an empty, broken parking lot. Key Takeaway Recognize quiet strength in chaotic settings. Themes family resilience independence Mood melancholic hopeful Type poetic descriptive When to use this quote - parenting - urban renewal - mental health - artistic expression Key Concepts urban decay symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What does the shattered glass represent? - How does the mother’s directionality affect the scene? A Different Perspective The description may romanticize neglectful environments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) [Beautiful Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-mother-1180684/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Independence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independence/) [Independence Surrounded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independence-surrounded-1992966/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mother Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-hand-923877/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [“How I wish, how fervently I ache, to take my mother's hand, kiss her check,tell her I love her, and watch her smile. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-j-burke-sr/how-i-wish-how-fervently-i-ache-to-take-my-mother-s-hand-kiss-her/) [M.J. Burke Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-j-burke-sr/) > [I never grew up with a mother's hand - that's why I will forever be insecure, I think, in that primal way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lone/i-never-grew-up-with-a-mother-s-hand-that-s-why-i-will-forever-be/) [John Lone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lone/) > [He who strikes his father or mother his hand will grow out of the grave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/he-who-strikes-his-father-or-mother-his-hand-will-grow-out-of-the/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [If care was a hand, then it would be a mother's hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-odhiambo/if-care-was-a-hand-then-it-would-be-a-mother-s-hand/) [Geoffrey Odhiambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-odhiambo/) > [When Jack Burns needed to hold his mother's hand, his fingers could see in the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/when-jack-burns-needed-to-hold-his-mother-s-hand-his-fingers-could/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Despite all the loving and caring relationships in the world, there is nothing more loving than the feel of my mother's hand on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tali/despite-all-the-loving-and-caring-relationships-in-the-world-there-is/) [Jonathan Tali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tali/) > [There is more power in a mother's hand than in a king's scepter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-sunday/there-is-more-power-in-a-mother-s-hand-than-in-a-king-s-scepter/) [Billy Sunday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-sunday/) > [“My mother's hand strokes my cheek and I don't push it away as I would in wakefulness, never wanting her to know how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/my-mother-s-hand-strokes-my-cheek-and-i-don-t-push-it-away-as-i-would/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [I feel a thread tugging me again, but this time I know that it isn’t some sinister force dragging me toward death. This time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-feel-a-thread-tugging-me-again-but-this-time-i-know-that-it-isn-t/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [The sharpest memory of our old-fashioned Christmas eve is my mother's hand making sure I was settled in bed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-engle/the-sharpest-memory-of-our-old-fashioned-christmas-eve-is-my-mother-s/) [Paul Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-engle/) > [There is a mighty power in a mother's hand. There's more power in a woman's hand than there is in a king's scepter. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-sunday/there-is-a-mighty-power-in-a-mother-s-hand-there-s-more-power-in-a/) [Billy Sunday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-sunday/) > [I have a really beautiful mother. She is close to 60, and to this day doesn't wear a speck of make up or dye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-nicholson/i-have-a-really-beautiful-mother-she-is-close-to-60-and-to-this-day/) [Julianne Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-nicholson/) > [ \[What's beautiful about my mother is\] her compassion, how much she gives, whether it be to her kids and grandkids or out in the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-hudson/what-s-beautiful-about-my-mother-is-her-compassion-how-much-she-gives/) [Kate Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-hudson/) > [I am not beautiful. My mother once called me an ugly duckling. But,listed separately, I have a few good features.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/i-am-not-beautiful-my-mother-once-called-me-an-ugly-duckling-but/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [It's been 8 years since my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. So shout out to my beautiful mother for being the strongest fighter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-been-8-years-since-my-mom-was-diagnosed-with-breast-cancer-so/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by BJ Ward > [“The judge sentenced us to life— real, awake life out of the jails we had been roaming in— life in prism— then started handing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bj-ward/the-judge-sentenced-us-to-life-real-awake-life-out-of-the-jails-we/) [BJ Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bj-ward/) > [“I’d reconstruct Heaven, or usurp Hell— write till I swing open like a door hinge. I arrive—a rogue who’d refurbish town. I take my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bj-ward/i-d-reconstruct-heaven-or-usurp-hell-write-till-i-swing-open-like-a/) [BJ Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bj-ward/) > [“As children we learned our shadow is a darkness we never totally shake until we lie down, pull the shades, draw the curtains, shut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bj-ward/as-children-we-learned-our-shadow-is-a-darkness-we-never-totally/) [BJ Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bj-ward/) > [“I wanted to shove her away, thinking of my job, of headlines, of how this kind of comfort was outside the behavioral guidelines of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bj-ward/i-wanted-to-shove-her-away-thinking-of-my-job-of-headlines-of-how/) [BJ Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bj-ward/) > [“Shakespeare’s felicity is so often taught it is easy to overlook how taut the sinews in his neck must have been when he grasped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bj-ward/shakespeare-s-felicity-is-so-often-taught-it-is-easy-to-overlook-how/) [BJ Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bj-ward/) > [“Will there be no more irises in your garden tomorrow morning, or perhaps any rainbows that covet your roof will melt into Rorschach pastels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bj-ward/will-there-be-no-more-irises-in-your-garden-tomorrow-morning-or/) [BJ Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bj-ward/) > [“As hard as the diamonds in your smile, the wind carries its hammers with no hands and sustains a moan with no mouth, seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bj-ward/as-hard-as-the-diamonds-in-your-smile-the-wind-carries-its-hammers/) [BJ Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bj-ward/) > [“These words are my mother’s, my father’s, my brother’s, my lender’s, my garbage man’s—the poem runs like oil on fire beneath this earth where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bj-ward/these-words-are-my-mother-s-my-father-s-my-brother-s-my-lender-s-my/) [BJ Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bj-ward/) > [“My fist is her flag still furled. Take the cannoli and leave the tuxedo - This is my jackleg opera to the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bj-ward/my-fist-is-her-flag-still-furled-take-the-cannoli-and-leave-the/) [BJ Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bj-ward/) [Explore all 10 BJ Ward quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bj-ward/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. 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