---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes goldfinches one by one will…"
description: "\"Sometimes goldfinches one by one will drop From low hung branches; little space they stop; But sip, and twitter, and their feathers sleek; Then off at ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/john-keats-620_bird_sometimes-goldfinches-one-by-one-will-dr_628204.jpg"
---

#  Sometimes goldfinches one by one will drop From low hung…

![“Sometimes goldfinches one by one will drop From low hung branches; little space they stop; But sip, and twitter, and their feathers sleek; Then off at once, as in a wanton freak: Or perhaps, to show their black, and golden wings Pausing upon their yellow flutterings.” quote by John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/john-keats-620_bird_sometimes-goldfinches-one-by-one-will-dr_628204.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/john-keats-620_bird_sometimes-goldfinches-one-by-one-will-dr_628204.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/john-keats-620_bird_sometimes-goldfinches-one-by-one-will-dr_628204.jpg)

> “Sometimes goldfinches one by one will drop From low hung branches; little space they stop; But sip, and twitter, and their feathers sleek; Then off at once, as in a wanton freak: Or perhaps, to show their black, and golden wings Pausing upon their yellow flutterings.”

[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.

Observes fleeting beauty of goldfinches, their sudden, chaotic flight and vivid colors, reflecting nature’s unpredictable splendor.

**In simple terms:** Goldfinches appear, flutter, then burst into chaotic flight.

Key Takeaway

Notice and cherish fleeting moments of beauty.

Themes

nature beauty impermanence chaos observation

Mood

wonderful reflective melancholic

Type

poetic observational

When to use this quote

- birdwatching
- poetry appreciation
- mindful observation
- photography
- garden walks

Key Concepts

ornithology aesthetic experience transience

Questions to Reflect On

- What does the sudden flight symbolize for you?
- How do you capture fleeting beauty in daily life?

A Different Perspective

May overlook the deeper symbolism of freedom versus confinement.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Yellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yellow/)

## Related quotes

> [I stood tip-toe upon a little hill, The air was cooling, and so very still, That the sweet buds which with a modest pride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/i-stood-tip-toe-upon-a-little-hill-the-air-was-cooling-and-so-very/)

[John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/)

> [“How many flutterings before they rest quietly in their graves! They that soared so loftily, how contentedly they return to dust again, and are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/how-many-flutterings-before-they-rest-quietly-in-their-graves-they/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [“A charm of Goldfinches swooped in and settled on a stand of thistles, pecking at the down. It was a scene Jejeune had seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-burrows/a-charm-of-goldfinches-swooped-in-and-settled-on-a-stand-of-thistles/)

[Steve Burrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-burrows/)

> [They ought to put out the eyes of painters as they do goldfinches in order that they can sing better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/they-ought-to-put-out-the-eyes-of-painters-as-they-do-goldfinches-in/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

> [My wife, the actress Megan Mullally, was an English major at Northwestern University and loves fiction. Like so many things in my life, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/my-wife-the-actress-megan-mullally-was-an-english-major-at/)

[Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/)

> [“The moral? That life can be a stranger substance than a cliche life, that goldfinches should occasionally do things differently from their parents, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-moral-that-life-can-be-a-stranger-substance-than-a-cliche-life/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [One thing is certain, and I have always known it - the joys of my life have nothing to do with age. They do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/one-thing-is-certain-and-i-have-always-known-it-the-joys-of-my-life/)

[May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/)

> [Within seconds thoughts become words that slip off our tongue and into the world. Pausing before we speak may seem cumbersome, but it allows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jeremiah/within-seconds-thoughts-become-words-that-slip-off-our-tongue-and/)

[David Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jeremiah/)

> [Pause and remember - Stop procrastinating! Wishing is wonderful but action is what it takes to make it happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-young/pause-and-remember-stop-procrastinating-wishing-is-wonderful-but/)

[Jennifer Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-young/)

> [Pause and remember - Every single event in your life, especially the difficult lessons, have made you smarter, stronger, and wiser than you were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-young/pause-and-remember-every-single-event-in-your-life-especially-the/)

[Jennifer Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-young/)

> [Sometimes during the day, I consciously focus on some ordinary object and allow myself a momentary "paying-attention." This paying-attention gives meaning to my life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/sometimes-during-the-day-i-consciously-focus-on-some-ordinary-object/)

[Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/)

> [Did I ever tell you,’ said Lymond pausing on the afterthought, on his way to the flap, ‘that that aunt of mine once hatched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-dunnett/did-i-ever-tell-you-said-lymond-pausing-on-the-afterthought-on-his/)

[Dorothy Dunnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-dunnett/)

> [Flowers speak to us if we listen. Appreciating the blossom in hand or pausing in the garden to admire the beauty quiets our outer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-hersey/flowers-speak-to-us-if-we-listen-appreciating-the-blossom-in-hand-or/)

[Jean Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-hersey/)

> [Seeing what is wrong and how it could be made right propels us into action, but in that action we often leave other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lawrence/seeing-what-is-wrong-and-how-it-could-be-made-right-propels-us-into/)

[Jennifer Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lawrence/)

> [Pausing allows you to take a beat to take a breath in your life. As everybody else is rushing around like a lunatic out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/pausing-allows-you-to-take-a-beat-to-take-a-breath-in-your-life-as/)

[Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/)

## 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 Bird quotes

> [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/)

[Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/)

> [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/)

[Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/)

> [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/)

[Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/)

> [“He unfixes the metal notch and slips his hand around the body of the bird. Feels its heat, its small heart beating. He stares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-schuyler/he-unfixes-the-metal-notch-and-slips-his-hand-around-the-body-of-the/)

Nina Schuyler

> [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/)

[Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/)

> [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/)

[Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/)

> [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/)

[Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/)

> [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/)

[Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/)

> [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/)

[Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/)

> [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/)

[Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/)

> [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/)

[Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/)

> [Real like sucks the life out of losers. if you want to fuck with the eagles, you must learn how to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-like-sucks-the-life-out-of-losers-if-you-want-to-fuck-with-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“If we studied birds ,maybe we could learn to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/if-we-studied-birds-maybe-we-could-learn-to-be-free/)

[Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/)

[Browse all 4,802 Bird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Sometimes goldfinches one by one will drop From low hung branches; little space they stop; But sip, and twitter, and their feathers sleek; Then off at once, as in a wanton freak: Or perhaps, to show their black, and golden wings Pausing upon their yellow flutterings.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Keats"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/sometimes-goldfinches-one-by-one-will-drop-from-low-hung-branches/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bird"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/sometimes-goldfinches-one-by-one-will-drop-from-low-hung-branches/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/john-keats-620_bird_sometimes-goldfinches-one-by-one-will-dr_628204.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/john-keats-620_bird_sometimes-goldfinches-one-by-one-will-dr_628204.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/john-keats-620_bird_sometimes-goldfinches-one-by-one-will-dr_628204.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Sometimes goldfinches one by one will drop From low hung branches; little space they stop; But sip, and…” — 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": "Sometimes goldfinches one by one will...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/sometimes-goldfinches-one-by-one-will-drop-from-low-hung-branches/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/sometimes-goldfinches-one-by-one-will-drop-from-low-hung-branches/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
