--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life is but a day; A fragile dewdrop on…" description: "\"Life is but a day; A fragile dewdrop on its perilous way From a tree's summit.\" — John Keats" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/john-keats-620_fragile_life-is-but-a-day-a-fragile-dewdrop-on-i_2122861.jpg" --- # Life is but a day; A fragile dewdrop on its perilous way… ![“Life is but a day; A fragile dewdrop on its perilous way From a tree's summit.” quote by John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/john-keats-620_fragile_life-is-but-a-day-a-fragile-dewdrop-on-i_2122861.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/john-keats-620_fragile_life-is-but-a-day-a-fragile-dewdrop-on-i_2122861.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/john-keats-620_fragile_life-is-but-a-day-a-fragile-dewdrop-on-i_2122861.jpg) > “Life is but a day; A fragile dewdrop on its perilous way From a tree's summit.” [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is fleeting, likened to a delicate droplet descending from a lofty tree, emphasizing fragility. **In simple terms:** Life is brief and fragile like a droplet. Key Takeaway Cherish each moment. Themes mortality fragility nature Mood melancholic reflective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal loss - reflection - poetry - mindfulness Key Concepts transience ephemerality Questions to Reflect On - What does the droplet symbolize for you? - How can awareness of fragility inspire action? A Different Perspective May overlook resilience in adversity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dewdrop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dewdrop/) [Fragile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragile/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Summit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summit/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [Life is but a day: A fragile dewdrop on its perilious way From a tree's summit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/life-is-but-a-day-a-fragile-dewdrop-on-its-perilious-way-from-a-tree/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [We hear every damn day about how fragile our country is - on the brink of catastrophe - torn by polarizing hate, and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/we-hear-every-damn-day-about-how-fragile-our-country-is-on-the-brink/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [“Life is but a day; A fragile dew-drop on its perilous way From a tree’s summit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/life-is-but-a-day-a-fragile-dew-drop-on-its-perilous-way-from-a-tree/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [At the end of the day, we're fragile life-forms that shouldn't take for granted our own health or that of our loved ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-serhant/at-the-end-of-the-day-we-re-fragile-life-forms-that-shouldn-t-take/) [Ryan Serhant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-serhant/) > [I've travelled all around the world to see the rivers and the mountains, and I've spent a lot of money. I have gone to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/i-ve-travelled-all-around-the-world-to-see-the-rivers-and-the/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“Whenever you turn your head, your deaths dodge behind you. Wherever you look, they hide. They hide in a teacup. Or in a dewdrop.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/whenever-you-turn-your-head-your-deaths-dodge-behind-you-wherever-you/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“Watching the wonder of a dewdrop clinging on a tree leaf in the early morning sunlight can give us an ethereal thrill and at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/watching-the-wonder-of-a-dewdrop-clinging-on-a-tree-leaf-in-the-early/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [The tear, down childhood's cheek that flows, Is like the dewdrop on the rose; When next the summer breeze comes by And waves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/the-tear-down-childhood-s-cheek-that-flows-is-like-the-dewdrop-on-the/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [“I have lost my dewdrop", cries the flower to the morning sky that lost all its stars”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/i-have-lost-my-dewdrop-cries-the-flower-to-the-morning-sky-that-lost/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The daisy, by the shadow that it casts, Protects the lingering dewdrop from the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-daisy-by-the-shadow-that-it-casts-protects-the-lingering-dewdrop/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [He sat on as the sun's rays came slowly down through the trees, lower and lower, and when the lowest reached a branch not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/he-sat-on-as-the-sun-s-rays-came-slowly-down-through-the-trees-lower/) [Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/) > [A dewdrop is a perfect integrity that has no filial memory of its parentage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/a-dewdrop-is-a-perfect-integrity-that-has-no-filial-memory-of-its/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [This Dewdrop World is a beautiful, courageous, intimate film about love and loss. It may also be the deepest meditation on climate change that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goodell/this-dewdrop-world-is-a-beautiful-courageous-intimate-film-about-love/) [Jeff Goodell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goodell/) > [“This dewdrop world Is but a dewdrop world And yet —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/this-dewdrop-world-is-but-a-dewdrop-world-and-yet/) [Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) > [YOU are the big drop of dew under the lotus leaf, I am the smaller one on its upper side,' said the dewdrop to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/you-are-the-big-drop-of-dew-under-the-lotus-leaf-i-am-the-smaller-one/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) ## More by John Keats > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Phylosophy will clip an angel's wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/phylosophy-will-clip-an-angel-s-wings/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [There was an awful rainbow once in heaven: We know her woof, her texture; she is given In the dull catalogue of common things.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/there-was-an-awful-rainbow-once-in-heaven-we-know-her-woof-her/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“I was never afraid of failure; for I would sooner fail than not be among the greatest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/i-was-never-afraid-of-failure-for-i-would-sooner-fail-than-not-be/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Thou wast not born for death, immortal bird! No hungry generations tread thee down; The voice I hear this passing night was heard In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/thou-wast-not-born-for-death-immortal-bird-no-hungry-generations/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Deep in the shady sadness of a vale Far sunken from the healthy breath of morn, Far from the fiery noon and eve's one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/deep-in-the-shady-sadness-of-a-vale-far-sunken-from-the-healthy/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [So let me be thy choir, and make a moan Upon the midnight hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/so-let-me-be-thy-choir-and-make-a-moan-upon-the-midnight-hours/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Everything that reminds me of her goes through me like a spear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/everything-that-reminds-me-of-her-goes-through-me-like-a-spear/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I have been astonished that men could die martyrs for their religion - I have shudder'd at it. I shudder no more. I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/i-have-been-astonished-that-men-could-die-martyrs-for-their-religion/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Dance and Provencal song and sunburnt mirth! On for a beaker full of the warm South, Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene! With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/dance-and-provencal-song-and-sunburnt-mirth-on-for-a-beaker-full-of/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Many have original minds who do not think it - they are led away by custom!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/many-have-original-minds-who-do-not-think-it-they-are-led-away-by/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Alas! when passion is both meek and wild!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/alas-when-passion-is-both-meek-and-wild/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Load every rift with ore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/load-every-rift-with-ore/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I shall soon be laid in the quiet grave - thank God for the quiet grave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/i-shall-soon-be-laid-in-the-quiet-grave-thank-god-for-the-quiet-grave/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [When old age shall this generation waste, Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/when-old-age-shall-this-generation-waste-thou-shalt-remain-in-midst/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) [Explore all 438 John Keats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) ## More Dewdrop quotes > [YOU are the big drop of dew under the lotus leaf, I am the smaller one on its upper side,' said the dewdrop to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/you-are-the-big-drop-of-dew-under-the-lotus-leaf-i-am-the-smaller-one/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“This dewdrop world Is but a dewdrop world And yet —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/this-dewdrop-world-is-but-a-dewdrop-world-and-yet/) [Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) > [This Dewdrop World is a beautiful, courageous, intimate film about love and loss. It may also be the deepest meditation on climate change that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goodell/this-dewdrop-world-is-a-beautiful-courageous-intimate-film-about-love/) [Jeff Goodell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goodell/) > [A dewdrop is a perfect integrity that has no filial memory of its parentage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/a-dewdrop-is-a-perfect-integrity-that-has-no-filial-memory-of-its/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [He sat on as the sun's rays came slowly down through the trees, lower and lower, and when the lowest reached a branch not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/he-sat-on-as-the-sun-s-rays-came-slowly-down-through-the-trees-lower/) [Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/) > [The daisy, by the shadow that it casts, Protects the lingering dewdrop from the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-daisy-by-the-shadow-that-it-casts-protects-the-lingering-dewdrop/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [“I have lost my dewdrop", cries the flower to the morning sky that lost all its stars”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/i-have-lost-my-dewdrop-cries-the-flower-to-the-morning-sky-that-lost/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The tear, down childhood's cheek that flows, Is like the dewdrop on the rose; When next the summer breeze comes by And waves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/the-tear-down-childhood-s-cheek-that-flows-is-like-the-dewdrop-on-the/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [Life is but a day: A fragile dewdrop on its perilious way From a tree's summit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/life-is-but-a-day-a-fragile-dewdrop-on-its-perilious-way-from-a-tree/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“Watching the wonder of a dewdrop clinging on a tree leaf in the early morning sunlight can give us an ethereal thrill and at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/watching-the-wonder-of-a-dewdrop-clinging-on-a-tree-leaf-in-the-early/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [“Whenever you turn your head, your deaths dodge behind you. Wherever you look, they hide. They hide in a teacup. Or in a dewdrop.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/whenever-you-turn-your-head-your-deaths-dodge-behind-you-wherever-you/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I've travelled all around the world to see the rivers and the mountains, and I've spent a lot of money. I have gone to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/i-ve-travelled-all-around-the-world-to-see-the-rivers-and-the/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Photography, to me, is the dewdrop that reflects my inner and outer worlds simultaneously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghubir-singh/photography-to-me-is-the-dewdrop-that-reflects-my-inner-and-outer/) Raghubir Singh > [Giddy grasshopper Take care...do not leap and crush These pearls of dewdrop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/giddy-grasshopper-take-care-do-not-leap-and-crush-these-pearls-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Faith is like the freshness of dewdrops.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/faith-is-like-the-freshness-of-dewdrops/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) [Browse all 16 Dewdrop quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dewdrop/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Life is but a day; A fragile dewdrop on its perilous way From a tree's summit.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Keats" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/life-is-but-a-day-a-fragile-dewdrop-on-its-perilous-way-from-a-tree-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dewdrop" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/life-is-but-a-day-a-fragile-dewdrop-on-its-perilous-way-from-a-tree-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/john-keats-620_fragile_life-is-but-a-day-a-fragile-dewdrop-on-i_2122861.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/john-keats-620_fragile_life-is-but-a-day-a-fragile-dewdrop-on-i_2122861.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/john-keats-620_fragile_life-is-but-a-day-a-fragile-dewdrop-on-i_2122861.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Life is but a day; A fragile dewdrop on its perilous way From a tree's summit.” — John Keats", "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 Keats", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Life is but a day; A...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/life-is-but-a-day-a-fragile-dewdrop-on-its-perilous-way-from-a-tree-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/life-is-but-a-day-a-fragile-dewdrop-on-its-perilous-way-from-a-tree-s/#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 } } ] } ```