--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One day, a shadow will come to my door…" description: "\"“One day, a shadow will come to my door. He will push his head back and scuff the dirt with one heel, and he will tell me to go to the market common sh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd1/j-anderson-coats-2-80888_justice_one-day-a-shadow-will-come-to-my-door-he_141823.jpg" --- # One day, a shadow will come to my door. He will push his… ![“One day, a shadow will come to my door. He will push his head back and scuff the dirt with one heel, and he will tell me to go to the market common should I want to say farewell ere the hangman does his work. Or that my brother died well in some anonymous way, calling down the only kind of justice…” quote by J Anderson Coats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd1/j-anderson-coats-2-80888_justice_one-day-a-shadow-will-come-to-my-door-he_141823.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd1/j-anderson-coats-2-80888_justice_one-day-a-shadow-will-come-to-my-door-he_141823.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd1/j-anderson-coats-2-80888_justice_one-day-a-shadow-will-come-to-my-door-he_141823.jpg) > ““One day, a shadow will come to my door. He will push his head back and scuff the dirt with one heel, and he will tell me to go to the market common should I want to say farewell ere the hangman does his work. Or that my brother died well in some anonymous way, calling down the only kind of justice the likes of us have recourse to. Then I will have naught left to lose.”” J Anderson Coats ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Facing inevitable loss, the speaker reflects on mortality and the futility of clinging to possessions or status. **In simple terms:** Loss makes everything else seem meaningless. Key Takeaway Accept impermanence. Themes mortality loss existentialism Mood somber contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal crises - end‑of‑life planning - grief counseling Key Concepts philosophy psychology human condition Questions to Reflect On - What would you cherish if you had nothing to lose? - How does confronting death shape your values? A Different Perspective The bleak view may discourage proactive living. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Brother died](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother-died/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) ## Related quotes > [“The dark tides of the shadow. The children of the shadow. No. They've come. From beyond the stars, the dark tides of shadow have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mckinney/the-dark-tides-of-the-shadow-the-children-of-the-shadow-no-they-ve/) Jack McKinney > [We are things of a day. What are we? What are we not? The shadow of a dream is man, no more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pindar/we-are-things-of-a-day-what-are-we-what-are-we-not-the-shadow-of-a/) [Pindar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pindar/) > [“I'll stop loving you the day my shadow stops following me around. Because on that day, nothing will make sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-anum/i-ll-stop-loving-you-the-day-my-shadow-stops-following-me-around/) [J.A. ANUM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-anum/) > [I would that I could have stopped time and preserved that day forever. It was a perfect day. 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This baby's other other other brother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cowgirl-haley00/this-is-my-baby-boy-i-sold-is-other-brother-and-my-aunt-has-his-other/) Cowgirl\_Haley00 > [I was not sorry when my brother died](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsitsi-dangarembga/i-was-not-sorry-when-my-brother-died/) [Tsitsi Dangarembga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsitsi-dangarembga/) > [I had a lot of issues in my life after my brother died in 1972, that I carried through to my adult life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-benn/i-had-a-lot-of-issues-in-my-life-after-my-brother-died-in-1972-that-i/) [Nigel Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-benn/) > [“I need you, Teft,” Kaladin said. “I said—” “Not your food. You. Your loyalty. Your allegiance.” The older man continued to eat. He didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/i-need-you-teft-kaladin-said-i-said-not-your-food-you-your-loyalty/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [My brother died of cancer two years ago (1998), renal cell carcinoma. He was my only real brother and I didn't know what to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quincy-jones/my-brother-died-of-cancer-two-years-ago-1998-renal-cell-carcinoma-he/) [Quincy Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quincy-jones/) > [I have one brother, John, an airline pilot, who is seven years younger. He's adopted, though we're still blood related - he's my cousin.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-numan/i-have-one-brother-john-an-airline-pilot-who-is-seven-years-younger/) [Gary Numan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-numan/) > [Since my brother died in 1982, my parents and I had formed a shaky tripod of a family; now that I'd lost my father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-hood/since-my-brother-died-in-1982-my-parents-and-i-had-formed-a-shaky/) [Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) > [Ironically my brother died in a car accident shortly after Airbag was recorded. He's not an identical twin so I didn't care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/ironically-my-brother-died-in-a-car-accident-shortly-after-airbag-was/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) ## More by J Anderson Coats > [“I have not harmed her. I have not allowed harm to come to her. It's more than her lot has ever offered me, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anderson-coats-2/i-have-not-harmed-her-i-have-not-allowed-harm-to-come-to-her-it-s/) J Anderson Coats > [“The poor lads called and called, but they were grown and had forgotten the best places to hide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anderson-coats-2/the-poor-lads-called-and-called-but-they-were-grown-and-had-forgotten/) J Anderson Coats Explore all 3 J Anderson Coats quotes ## More Brother quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. 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An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-currie-jr/your-relationship-with-your-brother-will-be-in-many-ways-the-most/) [Ron Currie Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-currie-jr/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [There's no publicist, no advertisements, and no one's pushing us. If people are buying our records, it's because big brothers and sisters or friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-moody/there-s-no-publicist-no-advertisements-and-no-one-s-pushing-us-if/) Spencer Moody > [The only way to make sure that the Hand didn't get to you would have been to kill your brother. I could've done it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/the-only-way-to-make-sure-that-the-hand-didn-t-get-to-you-would-have/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [“Your favorite son and brother, Shade. Like”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-aveyard/your-favorite-son-and-brother-shade-like/) [Victoria Aveyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-aveyard/) > [Sister + brother = a lovely family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sister-brother-a-lovely-family/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/brothers-and-sisters-i-bid-you-beware-of-giving-your-heart-to-a-dog/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [Stephanie could see the greed seep into the watery eyes of her father’s other brother, a horrible little man called Fergus, as he nodded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/stephanie-could-see-the-greed-seep-into-the-watery-eyes-of-her-father/) [Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) > [I worked in a barbershop. I used to make the waves in the brother's hair, you know? Like, Nat King Cole, Sugar Ray Robinson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clinton/i-worked-in-a-barbershop-i-used-to-make-the-waves-in-the-brother-s/) [George Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clinton/) [Browse all 7,453 Brother quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“One day, a shadow will come to my door. 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