--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To-day I think Only with scents, - scents…" description: "\"To-day I think Only with scents, - scents dead leaves yield, And bracken, and wild carrot's seed, And the square mustard field; Odours that rise When t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/edward-thomas-23008_autumn_to-day-i-think-only-with-scents-scents-d_395889.jpg" --- # To-day I think Only with scents, - scents dead leaves… ![“To-day I think Only with scents, - scents dead leaves yield, And bracken, and wild carrot's seed, And the square mustard field; Odours that rise When the spade wounds the root of tree, Rose, currant, raspberry, or goutweed, Rhubarb or celery; The smoke's smell, too, Flowing from where a bonfire…” quote by Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/edward-thomas-23008_autumn_to-day-i-think-only-with-scents-scents-d_395889.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/edward-thomas-23008_autumn_to-day-i-think-only-with-scents-scents-d_395889.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/edward-thomas-23008_autumn_to-day-i-think-only-with-scents-scents-d_395889.jpg) > “To-day I think Only with scents, - scents dead leaves yield, And bracken, and wild carrot's seed, And the square mustard field; Odours that rise When the spade wounds the root of tree, Rose, currant, raspberry, or goutweed, Rhubarb or celery; The smoke's smell, too, Flowing from where a bonfire burns The dead, the waste, the dangerous, And all to sweetness turns. It is enough To smell, to crumble the dark earth, While the robin sings over again Sad songs of Autumn mirth." - A poem called DIGGING.” [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poem celebrates the sensory richness of digging, finding beauty and meaning in earth, scent, and seasonal change. **In simple terms:** Digging reveals hidden beauty and comfort in nature. Key Takeaway Embrace simple sensory experiences. Themes nature season work memory beauty Mood reflective nostalgic Type poetic observational When to use this quote - gardening - archaeology - forest walks - meditative practice Key Concepts sensory perception transcendence ritual Questions to Reflect On - How does scent shape memory? - What does the robin symbolize? A Different Perspective May overlook the emotional labor of labor; ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autumn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) [Celery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celery/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Mirth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirth/) [Robins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robins/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rose/) [Sad song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad-song/) [Sad songs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad-songs/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Sweetness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweetness/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste/) [Wounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounds/) ## Related quotes > [“If we have largely forgotten the physical discomforts of the itching, oppressive garments of the past and the corrosive effects of perpetual physical discomfort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/if-we-have-largely-forgotten-the-physical-discomforts-of-the-itching/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [Odours have a power of persuasion stronger than that of words, appearances, emotions or will. The persuasive power of an odour cannot be fended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-s-skind/odours-have-a-power-of-persuasion-stronger-than-that-of-words/) [Patrick Süskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-s-skind/) > [“Endless love and voluptuous appetite pervaded this stifling nave in which settled the ardent sap of the tropics. Renée was wrapped in the powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/endless-love-and-voluptuous-appetite-pervaded-this-stifling-nave-in/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [The smell of factory farms . . . many notice these places only when the odours reach their homes, affecting their own quality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/the-smell-of-factory-farms-many-notice-these-places-only-when-the/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [If odours may worke satisfaction, they are so soveraigne in plants and so comfortable that no confection of the apothecaries can equall their excellent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gerard/if-odours-may-worke-satisfaction-they-are-so-soveraigne-in-plants-and/) [John Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gerard/) > [The Democrats seem to be basically nicer people, but they have demonstrated time and again that they have the management skills of celery. They're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/the-democrats-seem-to-be-basically-nicer-people-but-they-have/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [“Celery as celery was bad. Celery fried was the work of Satan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/celery-as-celery-was-bad-celery-fried-was-the-work-of-satan/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [I'm sautéing emcees with fried rice up in the wok without the MSG and chopped celery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/redman/i-m-saut-ing-emcees-with-fried-rice-up-in-the-wok-without-the-msg-and/) [Redman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/redman/) > [He nodded nervously. ‘He looks like a magician. I hate magicians. They usually have rabbits.’ I stared at him. ‘You’re scared of bunnies?’ ‘Blah-hah-hah!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/he-nodded-nervously-he-looks-like-a-magician-i-hate-magicians-they/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [I love to cook. In fact, at this exact moment, I am trying something new: I am cooking a whole chicken in my crockpot,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-grace/i-love-to-cook-in-fact-at-this-exact-moment-i-am-trying-something-new/) [Nancy Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-grace/) > [For my money, celery hasn't got a mean bit of fibre in its body, and we all need to start being much nicer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yotam-ottolenghi/for-my-money-celery-hasn-t-got-a-mean-bit-of-fibre-in-its-body-and-we/) [Yotam Ottolenghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yotam-ottolenghi/) > [I love celery and people don't use it a lot. Celery and flavors in that family - it really brightens and is refreshing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-english/i-love-celery-and-people-don-t-use-it-a-lot-celery-and-flavors-in/) [Todd English](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-english/) > [Do you want me to call you Celery Stick instead of Cupcake or Honey-Pie? It just doesn’t inspire the same warm and fuzzy feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/do-you-want-me-to-call-you-celery-stick-instead-of-cupcake-or-honey/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [There ought t'be some way t'eat celery so it wouldn't sound like you wuz steppin' on a basket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kin-hubbard/there-ought-t-be-some-way-t-eat-celery-so-it-wouldn-t-sound-like-you/) [Kin Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kin-hubbard/) > [If you've got a plot the size of a car or a tiny yard in Italy, you're going to be growing tomatoes and basil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/if-you-ve-got-a-plot-the-size-of-a-car-or-a-tiny-yard-in-italy-you-re/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) ## More by Edward Thomas > [A merely great intellect can produce prose, but not poetry, not one line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/a-merely-great-intellect-can-produce-prose-but-not-poetry-not-one-line/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [If I should ever by chance grow richI'll buy Codham, Cockridden, and Childerditch,Roses, Pyrgo, and Lapwater,And let them all to my eldest daughter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/if-i-should-ever-by-chance-grow-richi-ll-buy-codham-cockridden-and/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [I like to think how easily Nature will absorb London as she absorbed the mastodon, setting her spiders to spin the winding-sheet and her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/i-like-to-think-how-easily-nature-will-absorb-london-as-she-absorbed/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [ “If he \[Pound\] is not careful he will take to meaning what he says instead of saying what he means.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/if-he-pound-is-not-careful-he-will-take-to-meaning-what-he-says/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [“Tall Nettles Tall nettles cover up, as they have done These many springs, the rusty harrow, the plough Long worn out, and the roller…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/tall-nettles-tall-nettles-cover-up-as-they-have-done-these-many/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [“You English words? I know you: You are light as dreams, Tough as oak, Precious as gold, As poppies and corn, Or an old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/you-english-words-i-know-you-you-are-light-as-dreams-tough-as-oak/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [How nice it would be to be dead if only we could know we were dead. That is what I hate, the not being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/how-nice-it-would-be-to-be-dead-if-only-we-could-know-we-were-dead/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [“Rain, midnight rain, nothing but the wild rain On this bleak hut, and solitude, and me Remembering again that I shall die And neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/rain-midnight-rain-nothing-but-the-wild-rain-on-this-bleak-hut-and/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [Yes; I remember Adlestrop- The name, because one afternoon Of heat the express-train drew up there Unwontedly. It was late June.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/yes-i-remember-adlestrop-the-name-because-one-afternoon-of-heat-the/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [Over the land freckled with snow half-thawed The speculating rooks at their nests cawed And saw from elm tops, delicate as flower of grass,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/over-the-land-freckled-with-snow-half-thawed-the-speculating-rooks-at/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [“This ploughman dead in battle slept out of doors Many a frozen night, and merrily Answered staid drinkers, good bedmen, and all bores: "At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/this-ploughman-dead-in-battle-slept-out-of-doors-many-a-frozen-night/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [I built myself a house of glass:It took me years to make it:And I was proud. But now, alas!Would God someone would break it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/i-built-myself-a-house-of-glass-it-took-me-years-to-make-it-and-i-was/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [Making war or rebellion is messy, like eating soup off a knife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/making-war-or-rebellion-is-messy-like-eating-soup-off-a-knife/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [I, too, often shrivel the grey shreds,Sniff them and think and sniff again and tryOnce more to think what it is I am remembering,Always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/i-too-often-shrivel-the-grey-shreds-sniff-them-and-think-and-sniff/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) > [“You cannot make chicken salad out of Chicken shit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomas/you-cannot-make-chicken-salad-out-of-chicken-shit/) [Edward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) [Explore all 26 Edward Thomas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomas/) ## More Autumn quotes > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [The American spring is by no means so agreeable as the American autumn; both move with faltering step, and slow; but this lingering pace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-trollope/the-american-spring-is-by-no-means-so-agreeable-as-the-american/) [Frances Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-trollope/) > [“Flowers that had bloomed brilliant from spring through autumn blackened under the killing frost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/flowers-that-had-bloomed-brilliant-from-spring-through-autumn/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“FALL I've never liked orange not even a hint of yellow though that doesn't mean I'm derange, you know. but it's still a riddle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kynna-claire/fall-i-ve-never-liked-orange-not-even-a-hint-of-yellow-though-that/) Kynna Claire > [The trees change their voices in autumn as well as their shapes. No longer do they whisper to one another in muffled tones as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-strong/the-trees-change-their-voices-in-autumn-as-well-as-their-shapes-no/) [Patience Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-strong/) > [The measured blood beats out the year's delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/the-measured-blood-beats-out-the-year-s-delay/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last for ever. Even on the most beautiful days in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-crickets-felt-it-was-their-duty-to-warn-everybody-that-summertime/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He found himself wondering at times, especially in the autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-found-himself-wondering-at-times-especially-in-the-autumn-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Easter blessings All life’s sacrifices like autumn leaves awaken our senses and power to love and be whole Our Mother Earth, Our Father Sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/easter-blessings-all-life-s-sacrifices-like-autumn-leaves-awaken-our/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [The lush green of the fields became a rich gold that swayed sturdily under the wind and fell at last before the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/the-lush-green-of-the-fields-became-a-rich-gold-that-swayed-sturdily/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [“Autumn eats its leaf out of my hand: we are friends. From the nuts we shell time and we teach it to walk: then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-celan/autumn-eats-its-leaf-out-of-my-hand-we-are-friends-from-the-nuts-we/) [Paul Celan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-celan/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [We must learn to do economic work from all who know how, no matter who they are. We must esteem them as teachers, learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/we-must-learn-to-do-economic-work-from-all-who-know-how-no-matter-who/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) [Browse all 1,210 Autumn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To-day I think Only with scents, - scents dead leaves yield, And bracken, and wild carrot's seed, And the square mustard field; Odours that rise When the spade wounds the root of tree, Rose, currant, raspberry, or goutweed, Rhubarb or celery; The smoke's smell, too, Flowing from where a bonfire burns The dead, the waste, the dangerous, And all to sweetness turns. 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