--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A breath, whence no man knows, Swaying…" description: "\"A breath, whence no man knows, Swaying the grating weeds, it blows; It comes, it grieves, it goes. Once it rocked the summer rose.\" — John Vance Cheney" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b37/john-vance-cheney-40254_autumn_a-breath-whence-no-man-knows-swaying-the_1664769.jpg" --- # A breath, whence no man knows, Swaying the grating weeds… ![“A breath, whence no man knows, Swaying the grating weeds, it blows; It comes, it grieves, it goes. Once it rocked the summer rose.” quote by John Vance Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b37/john-vance-cheney-40254_autumn_a-breath-whence-no-man-knows-swaying-the_1664769.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b37/john-vance-cheney-40254_autumn_a-breath-whence-no-man-knows-swaying-the_1664769.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b37/john-vance-cheney-40254_autumn_a-breath-whence-no-man-knows-swaying-the_1664769.jpg) > “A breath, whence no man knows, Swaying the grating weeds, it blows; It comes, it grieves, it goes. Once it rocked the summer rose.” [John Vance Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vance-cheney/) ## 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 reflects on the fleeting, mysterious nature of wind and its impact on life. **In simple terms:** Wind is unseen, moving, affecting all. Key Takeaway Notice the unseen forces shaping moments. Themes nature transience impermanence Mood contemplative melancholic Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - gardening - weather observation - poetic reflection Key Concepts ephemeral change invisible influence Questions to Reflect On - How do unseen forces affect you? - What does the summer rose symbolize? A Different Perspective Wind cannot be controlled or fully understood. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autumn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) [Blow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blow/) [Blows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blows/) [Blows Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blows-comes-795212/) [Breaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) [Comes Grieves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comes-grieves-795214/) [Fall autumn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall-autumn/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Grieving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grieving/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Rocked Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocked-summer-795215/) [Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rose/) [Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer/) [Swaying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swaying/) [Weed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weed/) [Weeds Blows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weeds-blows-795213/) ## Related quotes > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [It gives you a good feeling. Each year, you rediscover in a garden the magic of life. A flower arrives, and it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-de-givenchy/it-gives-you-a-good-feeling-each-year-you-rediscover-in-a-garden-the/) [Hubert de Givenchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-de-givenchy/) > [There is a harmony In autumn, and a luster in its sky...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/there-is-a-harmony-in-autumn-and-a-luster-in-its-sky/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [You ought to know that October is the first Spring month.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-capek/you-ought-to-know-that-october-is-the-first-spring-month/) [Karel Capek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-capek/) > [Autumn is the eternal corrective. It is ripeness and color and a time of maturity; but it is also breadth, and depth, and distance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-borland/autumn-is-the-eternal-corrective-it-is-ripeness-and-color-and-a-time/) [Hal Borland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-borland/) > [I've never known anyone yet who doesn't suffer a certain restlessness when autumn rolls around... We're all eight years old again and anything is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/i-ve-never-known-anyone-yet-who-doesn-t-suffer-a-certain-restlessness/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [Now Autumn's fire burns slowly along the woods, And day by day the dead leaves fall and melt, And night by night the monitory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-allingham/now-autumn-s-fire-burns-slowly-along-the-woods-and-day-by-day-the/) [William Allingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-allingham/) > [The morns are meeker than they were, The nuts are getting brown; The berry's cheek is plumper, The rose is out of town. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/the-morns-are-meeker-than-they-were-the-nuts-are-getting-brown-the/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Our judgment ripens; our imagination decays. We cannot at once enjoy the flowers of the Spring of life and the fruits of its Autumn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/our-judgment-ripens-our-imagination-decays-we-cannot-at-once-enjoy/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [All-cheering Plenty, with her flowing horn, Led yellow Autumn, wreath'd with nodding corn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/all-cheering-plenty-with-her-flowing-horn-led-yellow-autumn-wreath-d-2/) [Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/) > [Youth is like spring, an over praised season more remarkable for biting winds than genial breezes. Autumn is the mellower season, and what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/youth-is-like-spring-an-over-praised-season-more-remarkable-for/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [All those golden autumn days the sky was full of wings. Wings beating low over the blue water of Silver Lake, wings beating high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingalls-wilder/all-those-golden-autumn-days-the-sky-was-full-of-wings-wings-beating/) [Laura Ingalls Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingalls-wilder/) > [Autumn is a season followed immediately by looking forward to spring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-larson/autumn-is-a-season-followed-immediately-by-looking-forward-to-spring/) [Doug Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-larson/) > [The season for enjoying the fullness of life - partaking of the harvest, sharing the harvest with others, and reinvesting and saving portions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/the-season-for-enjoying-the-fullness-of-life-partaking-of-the-harvest/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/i-cannot-endure-to-waste-anything-as-precious-as-autumn-sunshine-by/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) ## More by John Vance Cheney > [The message from the hedge-leaves, Heed it, whoso thou art; Under lowly eaves Lives the happy heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vance-cheney/the-message-from-the-hedge-leaves-heed-it-whoso-thou-art-under-lowly/) [John Vance Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vance-cheney/) > [I pour into the world the eternal streams Wan prophets tent beside, and dream their dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vance-cheney/i-pour-into-the-world-the-eternal-streams-wan-prophets-tent-beside/) [John Vance Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vance-cheney/) > [The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears. \[So when you are crying remember also to anticipate and look for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vance-cheney/the-soul-would-have-no-rainbow-had-the-eyes-no-tears-so-when-you-are/) [John Vance Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vance-cheney/) > [Holding occasion by the hand, Not over nice 'twixt weed and flower, Waiving what none can understand, I make mine hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vance-cheney/holding-occasion-by-the-hand-not-over-nice-twixt-weed-and-flower/) [John Vance Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vance-cheney/) > [The happiest heart that ever beat Was in some quiet breast That found the common daylight sweet, And left to Heaven the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vance-cheney/the-happiest-heart-that-ever-beat-was-in-some-quiet-breast-that-found/) [John Vance Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vance-cheney/) > [The wind is awake, pretty leave, pretty leaves, Heed not what he says, he deceives, he deceives; Over and over To the lowly clover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vance-cheney/the-wind-is-awake-pretty-leave-pretty-leaves-heed-not-what-he-says-he/) [John Vance Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vance-cheney/) > [If so men's memories not a monument be, None shalt thou have. Warm hearts, and not cold stone, Must mark thy grave, or thou…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vance-cheney/if-so-men-s-memories-not-a-monument-be-none-shalt-thou-have-warm/) [John Vance Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vance-cheney/) > [No command of art, No toil, can help you hear; Earth's minstrelsy falls clear But on the listening heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vance-cheney/no-command-of-art-no-toil-can-help-you-hear-earth-s-minstrelsy-falls/) [John Vance Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vance-cheney/) > [I question not if thrushes sing, If roses load the air; Beyond my heart I need not reach When all is summer there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vance-cheney/i-question-not-if-thrushes-sing-if-roses-load-the-air-beyond-my-heart/) [John Vance Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vance-cheney/) > [The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vance-cheney/the-soul-would-have-no-rainbow-had-the-eyes-no-tears/) [John Vance Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vance-cheney/) [Explore all 11 John Vance Cheney quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vance-cheney/) ## More Autumn quotes > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [The American spring is by no means so agreeable as the American autumn; both move with faltering step, and slow; but this lingering pace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-trollope/the-american-spring-is-by-no-means-so-agreeable-as-the-american/) [Frances Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-trollope/) > [“Flowers that had bloomed brilliant from spring through autumn blackened under the killing frost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/flowers-that-had-bloomed-brilliant-from-spring-through-autumn/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“FALL I've never liked orange not even a hint of yellow though that doesn't mean I'm derange, you know. but it's still a riddle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kynna-claire/fall-i-ve-never-liked-orange-not-even-a-hint-of-yellow-though-that/) [Kynna Claire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kynna-claire/) > [The trees change their voices in autumn as well as their shapes. No longer do they whisper to one another in muffled tones as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-strong/the-trees-change-their-voices-in-autumn-as-well-as-their-shapes-no/) [Patience Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-strong/) > [The measured blood beats out the year's delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/the-measured-blood-beats-out-the-year-s-delay/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last for ever. Even on the most beautiful days in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-crickets-felt-it-was-their-duty-to-warn-everybody-that-summertime/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He found himself wondering at times, especially in the autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-found-himself-wondering-at-times-especially-in-the-autumn-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Easter blessings All life’s sacrifices like autumn leaves awaken our senses and power to love and be whole Our Mother Earth, Our Father Sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/easter-blessings-all-life-s-sacrifices-like-autumn-leaves-awaken-our/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [The lush green of the fields became a rich gold that swayed sturdily under the wind and fell at last before the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/the-lush-green-of-the-fields-became-a-rich-gold-that-swayed-sturdily/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [“Autumn eats its leaf out of my hand: we are friends. From the nuts we shell time and we teach it to walk: then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-celan/autumn-eats-its-leaf-out-of-my-hand-we-are-friends-from-the-nuts-we/) [Paul Celan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-celan/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [We must learn to do economic work from all who know how, no matter who they are. We must esteem them as teachers, learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/we-must-learn-to-do-economic-work-from-all-who-know-how-no-matter-who/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) [Browse all 1,210 Autumn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A breath, whence no man knows, Swaying the grating weeds, it blows; It comes, it grieves, it goes. 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