--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When sparrows build and the leaves break…" description: "\"When sparrows build and the leaves break forth My old sorrow wakes and cries.\" — Jean Ingelow" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28d/jean-ingelow-13712_break_when-sparrows-build-and-the-leaves-break_2899487.png" --- # When sparrows build and the leaves break forth My old… ![“When sparrows build and the leaves break forth My old sorrow wakes and cries.” quote by Jean Ingelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28d/jean-ingelow-13712_break_when-sparrows-build-and-the-leaves-break_2899487.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28d/jean-ingelow-13712_break_when-sparrows-build-and-the-leaves-break_2899487.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28d/jean-ingelow-13712_break_when-sparrows-build-and-the-leaves-break_2899487.png) > “When sparrows build and the leaves break forth My old sorrow wakes and cries.” [Jean Ingelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ingelow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nature's renewal triggers old sorrow, showing how external change can awaken inner grief. **In simple terms:** Nature can awaken hidden sorrow. Key Takeaway Notice how surroundings affect emotions. Themes nature memory sorrow awakening Mood reflective somber Type poetic emotional When to use this quote - gardening - seasonal change - emotional processing Key Concepts psychology ecocriticism Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your old sorrows? - Can nature help you process grief? A Different Perspective Not all memories are healed by nature. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cry/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Sparrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sparrows/) ## Related quotes > [“And if I,' said she, 'am young in years, I am old in sorrow;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/and-if-i-said-she-am-young-in-years-i-am-old-in-sorrow/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [To the old, sorrow is sorrow; to the young, it is despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/to-the-old-sorrow-is-sorrow-to-the-young-it-is-despair/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [The behavior of the Occupy Wall Street protesters has raised some curious questions about the continuing double standards in our society. 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Missed is the laughter of children, the commotion of teenagers, and the tender, loving concern of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/those-who-grieve-frequently-find-themselves-alone-missed-is-the/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) ## More by Jean Ingelow > [Man is the miracle in nature. God Is the One Miracle to man. Behold, "There is a God," thou sayest. Thou sayest well: In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ingelow/man-is-the-miracle-in-nature-god-is-the-one-miracle-to-man-behold/) [Jean Ingelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ingelow/) > [What change has made the pastures sweet And reached the daisies at my feet, And cloud that wears a golden hem? This lovely world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ingelow/what-change-has-made-the-pastures-sweet-and-reached-the-daisies-at-my/) [Jean Ingelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ingelow/) > [And old affront will stir the heart Through years of rankling pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ingelow/and-old-affront-will-stir-the-heart-through-years-of-rankling-pain/) [Jean Ingelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ingelow/) > [There's no dew left on the daisies and clover; there's no rain left in heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ingelow/there-s-no-dew-left-on-the-daisies-and-clover-there-s-no-rain-left-in/) [Jean Ingelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ingelow/) > [I am glad to think I am not bound to make the world go right, but only to discover and to do, with cheerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ingelow/i-am-glad-to-think-i-am-not-bound-to-make-the-world-go-right-but-only/) [Jean Ingelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ingelow/) > [Work is its own best earthly meed, Else have we none more than the sea-born throng Who wrought those marvellous isles that bloom afar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ingelow/work-is-its-own-best-earthly-meed-else-have-we-none-more-than-the-sea/) [Jean Ingelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ingelow/) > [And the guelder rose In a great stillness dropped, and ever dropped, Her wealth about her feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ingelow/and-the-guelder-rose-in-a-great-stillness-dropped-and-ever-dropped/) [Jean Ingelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ingelow/) > [A birthday:-and now a day that rose With much of hope, with meaning rife- A thoughtful day from dawn to close: The middle day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ingelow/a-birthday-and-now-a-day-that-rose-with-much-of-hope-with-meaning/) [Jean Ingelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ingelow/) > [I have lived life long enough to thank God that all my prayers have not been answered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ingelow/i-have-lived-life-long-enough-to-thank-god-that-all-my-prayers-have/) [Jean Ingelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ingelow/) > [O woman! thou wert fashioned to beguile: So have all sages said, all poets sung.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ingelow/o-woman-thou-wert-fashioned-to-beguile-so-have-all-sages-said-all/) [Jean Ingelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ingelow/) > [I opened the doors of my heart. And behold, There was music within and a song, And echoes did feed on the sweetness, repeating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ingelow/i-opened-the-doors-of-my-heart-and-behold-there-was-music-within-and/) [Jean Ingelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ingelow/) > [People newly emerged from obscurity generally launch out into indiscriminate display.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ingelow/people-newly-emerged-from-obscurity-generally-launch-out-into/) [Jean Ingelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ingelow/) > [When our thoughts are born, Though they be good and humble, one should mind How they are reared, or some will go astray And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ingelow/when-our-thoughts-are-born-though-they-be-good-and-humble-one-should/) [Jean Ingelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ingelow/) > [You moon, have you done something wrong in heaven / That God has hidden your face?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ingelow/you-moon-have-you-done-something-wrong-in-heaven-that-god-has-hidden/) [Jean Ingelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ingelow/) > [There is but halting for the wearied foot; The better way is hidden. 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No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I hadn't worked for a year when I had my Prison Break audition and it was the easiest audition I've ever had. I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/i-hadn-t-worked-for-a-year-when-i-had-my-prison-break-audition-and-it/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [“A hole ain’t nothing either, but you can still break your neck in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-donati/a-hole-ain-t-nothing-either-but-you-can-still-break-your-neck-in-it/) [Sara Donati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-donati/) > [“I break things, a lot of things, but I don’t want one of them to be you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-break-things-a-lot-of-things-but-i-don-t-want-one-of-them-to-be-you/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Motor racing's less of a sport these days than a commercial break doing 150 mph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dunne/motor-racing-s-less-of-a-sport-these-days-than-a-commercial-break/) Peter Dunne > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. 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