--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is an effort to descend down the…" description: "\"“It is an effort to descend down the hand-holds of memory to the plain beneath, to recall the lost future, the dusk hovering above the sunken cities, t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/j-a-baker-29737_hawks_it-is-an-effort-to-descend-down-the-hand_1740533.jpg" --- # It is an effort to descend down the hand-holds of memory… ![“It is an effort to descend down the hand-holds of memory to the plain beneath, to recall the lost future, the dusk hovering above the sunken cities, the dim western world of fallen light and broken skies. My life is here, where soon the larks will sing again, and there is a hawk above. One wishes…” quote by J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/j-a-baker-29737_hawks_it-is-an-effort-to-descend-down-the-hand_1740533.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/j-a-baker-29737_hawks_it-is-an-effort-to-descend-down-the-hand_1740533.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/j-a-baker-29737_hawks_it-is-an-effort-to-descend-down-the-hand_1740533.jpg) > ““It is an effort to descend down the hand-holds of memory to the plain beneath, to recall the lost future, the dusk hovering above the sunken cities, the dim western world of fallen light and broken skies. My life is here, where soon the larks will sing again, and there is a hawk above. One wishes only to go forward, deeper into the summer land, journeying from lark-song to lark-song, passing through the dark realm of the owls, the fox-holdings, the badger-shires, out into the brilliant winter dominion, the sea-bleak world of the hawks.”” [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes a mental journey through memory, loss, and hope, moving from darkness toward renewal and the cycles of nature. **In simple terms:** A mind moves from loss toward hope, guided by nature’s cycles. Key Takeaway Embrace change and keep moving forward. Themes memory hope nature journey renewal Mood reflective melancholic hopeful Type poetic philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - grieving - creative writing - personal growth - nature observation - spiritual practice Key Concepts existentialism ecology psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you translate inner journeys into concrete actions? - What natural cycles help you heal? A Different Perspective The metaphor may obscure practical steps for coping with loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hawks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hawks/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Lark’s Song That child who from Diana’s thought is born A huntress swift, who doth the world adorn With strength and passion worthy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-alexander-neill/lark-s-song-that-child-who-from-diana-s-thought-is-born-a-huntress/) D. Alexander Neill > [“Their rapid, shifting, dancing motion had been so deft and graceful that it was difficult to believe that hunger was the cause of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/their-rapid-shifting-dancing-motion-had-been-so-deft-and-graceful/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) > [In honoring the Wright Brothers, it is customary and proper to recognize their contribution to scientific progress. But I believe it is equally important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-honoring-the-wright-brothers-it-is-customary-and-proper-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it; the basest horn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/when-i-bestride-him-i-soar-i-am-a-hawk-he-trots-the-air-the-earth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [In the tradition of Black Hawk Down, Malcolm MacPherson vividly brings to life this harrowing story of courage, pathos, and war at its grittiest.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-winik/in-the-tradition-of-black-hawk-down-malcolm-macpherson-vividly-brings/) [Jay Winik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-winik/) > [The wolf dreads the pitfall, the hawk suspects the snare, and the kite the covered hook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-wolf-dreads-the-pitfall-the-hawk-suspects-the-snare-and-the-kite/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [In the world outside this glass room, songbirds are feeding and resting in the trees. Some will take off tonight and not land until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/in-the-world-outside-this-glass-room-songbirds-are-feeding-and/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) > [In Washington they have their hawks and doves and in Ottawa we have our parrots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-douglas/in-washington-they-have-their-hawks-and-doves-and-in-ottawa-we-have/) [Tommy Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-douglas/) > [Cirrus sky hawk drift, blue haze in the autumn air, and my mouth is dry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-boddy/cirrus-sky-hawk-drift-blue-haze-in-the-autumn-air-and-my-mouth-is-dry/) Gregg Boddy > [Bird taxonomy is a difficult field because of the severe anatomical constraints imposed by flight. There are only so many ways to design a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/bird-taxonomy-is-a-difficult-field-because-of-the-severe-anatomical/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [About five years ago, the courses we run in the Field Trials were 52 percent timber. The hawks live in trees, and the quail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-carlisle/about-five-years-ago-the-courses-we-run-in-the-field-trials-were-52/) [Rick Carlisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-carlisle/) > [Every Democrat on Capitol Hill professes to be a fiscal hawk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-beauprez/every-democrat-on-capitol-hill-professes-to-be-a-fiscal-hawk/) [Bob Beauprez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-beauprez/) > [In some parts of the ancient world, the hawk symbolized the sun. Back when I got this, I figured if I always had the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/in-some-parts-of-the-ancient-world-the-hawk-symbolized-the-sun-back/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“We'd had sex like we were whores to each other, and when it was done, we each moved to our side of the bed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/we-d-had-sex-like-we-were-whores-to-each-other-and-when-it-was-done/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [In many traditions, hawks are sacred: Apollo's messengers for the Greeks, sun symbols for the ancient Egyptians and, in the case of the Lakota…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/in-many-traditions-hawks-are-sacred-apollo-s-messengers-for-the/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) ## More by J.A. Baker > [“Their rapid, shifting, dancing motion had been so deft and graceful that it was difficult to believe that hunger was the cause of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/their-rapid-shifting-dancing-motion-had-been-so-deft-and-graceful/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) > [“Dark against the bright rust of the dead leaves, an unfledged starling lay flabbily upon its back. It was loose-skinned, helpless, and frog-like. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/dark-against-the-bright-rust-of-the-dead-leaves-an-unfledged-starling/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) > [“For an hour, till greyness covered all, the water shone like milk and mother-of-pearl. The sea breathed quietly, like a sleeping dog.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/for-an-hour-till-greyness-covered-all-the-water-shone-like-milk-and/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) > [“Weak people revenge Strong people forgive Intelligent people ignore Anon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/weak-people-revenge-strong-people-forgive-intelligent-people-ignore/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) > [“And for the partridge there was the sun suddenly shut out, the foul flailing blackness spreading wings above, the roar ceasing, the blazing knives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/and-for-the-partridge-there-was-the-sun-suddenly-shut-out-the-foul/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) > [“The morning slept like a snake in the unaccustomed warmth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/the-morning-slept-like-a-snake-in-the-unaccustomed-warmth/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) > [“The unchecked growth of many summers, rising and declining, has lessened the penetration of the light in a way one rarely sees in farmland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/the-unchecked-growth-of-many-summers-rising-and-declining-has/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) > [“It is a good life, a seal's, here in these shallow waters. Like the lives of so many air and water creatures, it seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/it-is-a-good-life-a-seal-s-here-in-these-shallow-waters-like-the/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) > [“Acceptance is easier than resentment and anger. So is forgiveness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/acceptance-is-easier-than-resentment-and-anger-so-is-forgiveness/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) > [“Bar-tailed godwits flying with curlew, with knot, with plover; seldom alone, seldom settling; snuffling eccentrics; long-nosed, loud-calling sea-rejoicers; their call a snorting, sneezing, mewing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/bar-tailed-godwits-flying-with-curlew-with-knot-with-plover-seldom/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) > [“The trees did not reflect the sun so much as glow from within, as though their bark was of parchment, a membrane through which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/the-trees-did-not-reflect-the-sun-so-much-as-glow-from-within-as/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) > [“This is now a different place from what it was two hours ago. There is no mysterious essence we can call a 'place'. Place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/this-is-now-a-different-place-from-what-it-was-two-hours-ago-there-is/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) > [“The hawkless valley bloomed with the soft voices of the waking owls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/the-hawkless-valley-bloomed-with-the-soft-voices-of-the-waking-owls/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) > [“Typical, isn’t it? Just when you start to think your tiny existence isn’t so bad after all, something comes along and gives you a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/typical-isn-t-it-just-when-you-start-to-think-your-tiny-existence-isn/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) > [“Approach him across open ground with a steady unfaltering movement. Let your shape grow in size but do not alter its outline. Never hide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/approach-him-across-open-ground-with-a-steady-unfaltering-movement/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) [Explore all 18 J.A. Baker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) ## More Hawks quotes > [In many traditions, hawks are sacred: Apollo's messengers for the Greeks, sun symbols for the ancient Egyptians and, in the case of the Lakota…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/in-many-traditions-hawks-are-sacred-apollo-s-messengers-for-the/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [“We'd had sex like we were whores to each other, and when it was done, we each moved to our side of the bed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/we-d-had-sex-like-we-were-whores-to-each-other-and-when-it-was-done/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [In some parts of the ancient world, the hawk symbolized the sun. Back when I got this, I figured if I always had the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/in-some-parts-of-the-ancient-world-the-hawk-symbolized-the-sun-back/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Every Democrat on Capitol Hill professes to be a fiscal hawk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-beauprez/every-democrat-on-capitol-hill-professes-to-be-a-fiscal-hawk/) [Bob Beauprez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-beauprez/) > [“Their rapid, shifting, dancing motion had been so deft and graceful that it was difficult to believe that hunger was the cause of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/their-rapid-shifting-dancing-motion-had-been-so-deft-and-graceful/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) > [About five years ago, the courses we run in the Field Trials were 52 percent timber. The hawks live in trees, and the quail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-carlisle/about-five-years-ago-the-courses-we-run-in-the-field-trials-were-52/) [Rick Carlisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-carlisle/) > [Bird taxonomy is a difficult field because of the severe anatomical constraints imposed by flight. There are only so many ways to design a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/bird-taxonomy-is-a-difficult-field-because-of-the-severe-anatomical/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [Cirrus sky hawk drift, blue haze in the autumn air, and my mouth is dry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-boddy/cirrus-sky-hawk-drift-blue-haze-in-the-autumn-air-and-my-mouth-is-dry/) Gregg Boddy > [In Washington they have their hawks and doves and in Ottawa we have our parrots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-douglas/in-washington-they-have-their-hawks-and-doves-and-in-ottawa-we-have/) [Tommy Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-douglas/) > [In the world outside this glass room, songbirds are feeding and resting in the trees. Some will take off tonight and not land until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/in-the-world-outside-this-glass-room-songbirds-are-feeding-and/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) > [The wolf dreads the pitfall, the hawk suspects the snare, and the kite the covered hook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-wolf-dreads-the-pitfall-the-hawk-suspects-the-snare-and-the-kite/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [In the tradition of Black Hawk Down, Malcolm MacPherson vividly brings to life this harrowing story of courage, pathos, and war at its grittiest.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-winik/in-the-tradition-of-black-hawk-down-malcolm-macpherson-vividly-brings/) [Jay Winik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-winik/) > [When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it; the basest horn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/when-i-bestride-him-i-soar-i-am-a-hawk-he-trots-the-air-the-earth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [In honoring the Wright Brothers, it is customary and proper to recognize their contribution to scientific progress. But I believe it is equally important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-honoring-the-wright-brothers-it-is-customary-and-proper-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I worked for John Ford, Howard Hawks, Henry Hathaway, Raoul Walsh - I worked for some real good directors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-farnsworth/i-worked-for-john-ford-howard-hawks-henry-hathaway-raoul-walsh-i/) [Richard Farnsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-farnsworth/) [Browse all 214 Hawks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hawks/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is an effort to descend down the hand-holds of memory to the plain beneath, to recall the lost future, the dusk hovering above the sunken cities, the dim western world of fallen light and broken skies. My life is here, where soon the larks will sing again, and there is a hawk above. 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