--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes, they wait. Sometimes, you see…" description: "\"Sometimes, they wait. Sometimes, you see the dead come in to the harbor, and their old dogs are all along the docks, wagging their tails, for they have..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/douglas-clegg-26546_children_sometimes-they-wait-sometimes-you-see-th_2725383.jpg" --- # Sometimes, they wait. Sometimes, you see the dead come in… ![“Sometimes, they wait. Sometimes, you see the dead come in to the harbor, and their old dogs are all along the docks, wagging their tails, for they have waited for their masters and mistresses for many years. You see mothers who have missed their sons. Fathers who had never spoken of love to their…” quote by Douglas Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/douglas-clegg-26546_children_sometimes-they-wait-sometimes-you-see-th_2725383.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/douglas-clegg-26546_children_sometimes-they-wait-sometimes-you-see-th_2725383.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/douglas-clegg-26546_children_sometimes-they-wait-sometimes-you-see-th_2725383.jpg) > “Sometimes, they wait. Sometimes, you see the dead come in to the harbor, and their old dogs are all along the docks, wagging their tails, for they have waited for their masters and mistresses for many years. You see mothers who have missed their sons. Fathers who had never spoken of love to their children, ready to embrace them as they voyage from the end of life. It shows the lies of this world, you see. We are wrong about so many things here. Mankind has done terrible things, yet we are forgiven.” [Douglas Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-clegg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Depicts waiting dogs and grieving parents, highlighting humanity’s sins and forgiveness **In simple terms:** Animals and families wait faithfully, while humanity errs yet is forgiven Key Takeaway Recognize loyalty and seek redemption for collective wrongs Themes loyalty grief forgiveness Mood somber reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - animal shelters - memorial services - community healing - counseling Key Concepts ethics spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What does forgiveness require? - How to honor those who wait? A Different Perspective May romanticize suffering ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [End of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-of-life/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Fathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fathers/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Mistress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistress/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son/) [Voyages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voyages/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“I felt numb, I felt empty. 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Come up and be dead!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/come-up-and-be-dead-come-up-and-be-dead/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Bad enough when the dead come walking,"he said (Dolorous Edd) to Jon, "now the Old Bear wants them talking as well? No good will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/bad-enough-when-the-dead-come-walking-he-said-dolorous-edd-to-jon-now/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [Me waiting for you to love me back is asking for the dead to come back to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-forgotten/me-waiting-for-you-to-love-me-back-is-asking-for-the-dead-to-come/) The Forgotten > [There's a moment when all would go smooth and even, If only the dead could find out when To come back, and be forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bulwer-lytton-1st-earl-of-lytton/there-s-a-moment-when-all-would-go-smooth-and-even-if-only-the-dead/) [Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bulwer-lytton-1st-earl-of-lytton/) ## More by Douglas Clegg > [“Old Marsh wore a look of sorrow upon his face. “You called him, miss. You called him. You must send him back now. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-clegg/old-marsh-wore-a-look-of-sorrow-upon-his-face-you-called-him-miss-you/) [Douglas Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-clegg/) > [“Death is a gift, so long as it is nature’s hand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-clegg/death-is-a-gift-so-long-as-it-is-nature-s-hand/) [Douglas Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-clegg/) > [“Death has a price, and all who bargain with the dead must pay it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-clegg/death-has-a-price-and-all-who-bargain-with-the-dead-must-pay-it/) [Douglas Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-clegg/) > [“I understood, then, where his madness had come from: He, too, had experienced the loss of the good and the victory of the evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-clegg/i-understood-then-where-his-madness-had-come-from-he-too-had/) [Douglas Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-clegg/) > [“He thought he could hear the hum of the universe as he sat there. 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"Iris, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-clegg/it-is-more-magnificent-than-what-i-thought-heaven-might-be-and-yet-it/) [Douglas Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-clegg/) > [“But he was exhausted, too, and not even feeling as if he were alive. Inside him, it felt as if something brilliant, some fire,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-clegg/but-he-was-exhausted-too-and-not-even-feeling-as-if-he-were-alive/) [Douglas Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-clegg/) > [“everything can work out fine if you just plant your feet on the ground and look straight ahead. Nothing is a tragedy unless you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-clegg/everything-can-work-out-fine-if-you-just-plant-your-feet-on-the/) [Douglas Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-clegg/) > [“He put his hand over my mouth. His hand felt warm, full of blood, the hand of a living man. “Death is a gift,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-clegg/he-put-his-hand-over-my-mouth-his-hand-felt-warm-full-of-blood-the/) [Douglas Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-clegg/) > [You know, my basic theory about kids: they are monsters in children ziploc suits, which they discard when they go to school each day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-clegg/you-know-my-basic-theory-about-kids-they-are-monsters-in-children/) [Douglas Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-clegg/) > [“He was too damned innocent. Homer wished he could keep Tad at this point, bonsai him to never grow up, to never have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-clegg/he-was-too-damned-innocent-homer-wished-he-could-keep-tad-at-this/) [Douglas Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-clegg/) > [“Never go in, miss. Never say a prayer at its door. 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It is the beginning of a greater adventure than this small life you cherish can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-clegg/death-is-not-the-end-of-things-my-sister-it-is-the-beginning-of-a/) [Douglas Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-clegg/) [Explore all 21 Douglas Clegg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-clegg/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. 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