--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Unknown Travelers Lugged to the gray…" description: "\"“The Unknown Travelers Lugged to the gray arbor, I have climbed this snow-stone on my face, My stick, but what, snapped the avalanche The air filled wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/787/john-ashbery-3600_avalanche_the-unknown-travelers-lugged-to-the-gray_437999.jpg" --- # The Unknown Travelers Lugged to the gray arbor, I have… ![“The Unknown Travelers Lugged to the gray arbor, I have climbed this snow-stone on my face, My stick, but what, snapped the avalanche The air filled with slowly falling rocks Breathed in deeply--arrived, The white room, a table covered With a towel, mug of ice--fear Among the legs of a chair, the…” quote by John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/787/john-ashbery-3600_avalanche_the-unknown-travelers-lugged-to-the-gray_437999.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/787/john-ashbery-3600_avalanche_the-unknown-travelers-lugged-to-the-gray_437999.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/787/john-ashbery-3600_avalanche_the-unknown-travelers-lugged-to-the-gray_437999.jpg) > ““The Unknown Travelers Lugged to the gray arbor, I have climbed this snow-stone on my face, My stick, but what, snapped the avalanche The air filled with slowly falling rocks Breathed in deeply--arrived, The white room, a table covered With a towel, mug of ice--fear Among the legs of a chair, the ashman, Purple and gray she starts upright in her chair.”” [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) ## 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 juxtaposes chaotic, vivid images of a physical journey with inner emotional turbulence, suggesting that confronting fear and uncertainty can be both disorienting and illuminating. **In simple terms:** Chaos and fear can reveal inner truths. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty to discover self. Themes poetry existentialism fear journey imagery Mood introspective enigmatic Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - mountain climbing - art therapy - creative writing - stressful decision making Key Concepts surrealism self‑exploration mental landscapes Questions to Reflect On - What personal avalanches have you faced? - How do you find clarity amid chaos? A Different Perspective Interpretation may vary widely, limiting concrete lessons. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Avalanche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avalanche/) ## Related quotes > [“If this was the price of benefits, it was too high. 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Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [“ Ride! ' went the call, and the individuals of the troop became a single lurching, streaming mass of horseflesh pounding toward the trees.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-u-pacat/ride-went-the-call-and-the-individuals-of-the-troop-became-a-single/) [S.U. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-u-pacat/) > [The one certainly for anyone in the path of an avalanche is this: standing still is not an option.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-davies/the-one-certainly-for-anyone-in-the-path-of-an-avalanche-is-this/) [Norman Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-davies/) > [No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-snowflake-in-an-avalanche-ever-feels-responsible/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by John Ashbery > [“It was always November there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/it-was-always-november-there/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [“Yes, they are alive and can have those colors, But I, in my soul, am alive too. 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He wanted his friend back, because that was a man worth taking an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-p-wayne/if-this-was-the-price-of-benefits-it-was-too-high-he-wanted-his/) S.P. Wayne > [The one certainly for anyone in the path of an avalanche is this: standing still is not an option.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-davies/the-one-certainly-for-anyone-in-the-path-of-an-avalanche-is-this/) [Norman Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-davies/) > [“ Ride! ' went the call, and the individuals of the troop became a single lurching, streaming mass of horseflesh pounding toward the trees.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-u-pacat/ride-went-the-call-and-the-individuals-of-the-troop-became-a-single/) [S.U. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-u-pacat/) > [Our little pebble of poor performance helps to start, or to sustain, an avalanche.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/our-little-pebble-of-poor-performance-helps-to-start-or-to-sustain-an/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [In all my wild mountaineering, I have enjoyed only one avalanche ride; and the start was so sudden, and the end came so soon,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/in-all-my-wild-mountaineering-i-have-enjoyed-only-one-avalanche-ride/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [“You don't understand. My brain consists of large, snowy mountains, and you just caused an avalanche.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rodriguez/you-don-t-understand-my-brain-consists-of-large-snowy-mountains-and/) David Rodriguez > [Things shouldn't hinge on so very little. Sneeze and you're highway carnage. Remove one tiny stone and you're an avalanche statistic. But I guess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/things-shouldn-t-hinge-on-so-very-little-sneeze-and-you-re-highway/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [Historical change is like an avalanche. The starting point is a snow-covered mountainside that looks solid. All changes take place under the surface and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-davies/historical-change-is-like-an-avalanche-the-starting-point-is-a-snow/) [Norman Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-davies/) > [“This was the sort of man who reached his destination with the implacable force of an avalanche and cared just as little about obstacles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joana-starnes/this-was-the-sort-of-man-who-reached-his-destination-with-the/) Joana Starnes > [So a voice in the mountain is enough to let loose an avalanche. A word too much may be followed by a caving in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/so-a-voice-in-the-mountain-is-enough-to-let-loose-an-avalanche-a-word/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The men have piled up in my past, have fallen trenchantly through my life, like an avalanche that doesn't mean to kill but is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/the-men-have-piled-up-in-my-past-have-fallen-trenchantly-through-my/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [“The avalanche was down, the hillside swept bare behind it; the last echoes died on the white slopes; the new mount glittered and lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/the-avalanche-was-down-the-hillside-swept-bare-behind-it-the-last/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [It's not like I'm training every day by doing an avalanche suplex off the top turnbuckle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shayna-baszler/it-s-not-like-i-m-training-every-day-by-doing-an-avalanche-suplex-off/) [Shayna Baszler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shayna-baszler/) > [I wanna survive an avalanche. I wanna be one of those people a dog finds buried under a ton of snow, almost dying of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tre-cool/i-wanna-survive-an-avalanche-i-wanna-be-one-of-those-people-a-dog/) [Tre Cool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tre-cool/) > [No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-snowflake-in-an-avalanche-ever-feels-responsible/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 52 Avalanche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avalanche/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The Unknown Travelers Lugged to the gray arbor, I have climbed this snow-stone on my face, My stick, but what, snapped the avalanche The air filled with slowly falling rocks Breathed in deeply--arrived, The white room, a table covered With a towel, mug of ice--fear Among the legs of a chair, the ashman, Purple and gray she starts upright in her chair.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Ashbery" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-unknown-travelers-lugged-to-the-gray-arbor-i-have-climbed-this/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Avalanche" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-unknown-travelers-lugged-to-the-gray-arbor-i-have-climbed-this/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/787/john-ashbery-3600_avalanche_the-unknown-travelers-lugged-to-the-gray_437999.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/787/john-ashbery-3600_avalanche_the-unknown-travelers-lugged-to-the-gray_437999.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/787/john-ashbery-3600_avalanche_the-unknown-travelers-lugged-to-the-gray_437999.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Unknown Travelers Lugged to the gray arbor, I have climbed this snow-stone on my face, My stick, but…” — John Ashbery", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Ashbery", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The Unknown Travelers Lugged to the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-unknown-travelers-lugged-to-the-gray-arbor-i-have-climbed-this/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-unknown-travelers-lugged-to-the-gray-arbor-i-have-climbed-this/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```