--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The war tried to kill us in the spring…" description: "\"The war tried to kill us in the spring. As grass greened the plains of Nineveh and the weather warmed, we patrolled the low-slung hills beyond the citi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61b/kevin-powers-9351_cities_the-war-tried-to-kill-us-in-the-spring-a_465949.jpg" --- # The war tried to kill us in the spring. As grass greened… ![“The war tried to kill us in the spring. As grass greened the plains of Nineveh and the weather warmed, we patrolled the low-slung hills beyond the cities and towns. We moved over them and through the tall grass on faith, kneading paths into the windswept growth like pioneers. While we slept, the…” quote by Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61b/kevin-powers-9351_cities_the-war-tried-to-kill-us-in-the-spring-a_465949.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61b/kevin-powers-9351_cities_the-war-tried-to-kill-us-in-the-spring-a_465949.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61b/kevin-powers-9351_cities_the-war-tried-to-kill-us-in-the-spring-a_465949.jpg) > “The war tried to kill us in the spring. As grass greened the plains of Nineveh and the weather warmed, we patrolled the low-slung hills beyond the cities and towns. We moved over them and through the tall grass on faith, kneading paths into the windswept growth like pioneers. While we slept, the war rubbed its thousand ribs against the ground in prayer.” [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War’s lingering presence haunts soldiers, turning ordinary landscapes into sites of memory and prayer, as they seek meaning amid destruction. **In simple terms:** War stays with them, even in peace. Key Takeaway Find ways to process trauma. Themes war memory healing nature faith Mood somber hopeful contemplative Type literary reflective inspirational When to use this quote - post‑war life - nature walks - communal remembrance - personal rituals Key Concepts trauma collective memory spiritual seeking Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor those lost while moving forward? - Can nature help heal war trauma? A Different Perspective Healing may be hindered by unresolved grief. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Grass Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grass-green/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Hills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hills/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Pioneers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pioneers/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Weather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weather/) ## Related quotes > [I kept praying that I might be able to prevent a repetition of this stupidity called war. I have tried to keep the promise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/i-kept-praying-that-i-might-be-able-to-prevent-a-repetition-of-this/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [Killing Japanese didn't bother me very much at that time... 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Why don't we try peace, as a science of human relations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kucinich/we-tried-war-we-tried-aggression-we-tried-intervention-none-of-it/) [Dennis Kucinich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kucinich/) > [“But you are running from God. I’ll tell you one thing— you’re going to Nineveh whether you like it or not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-christie/but-you-are-running-from-god-i-ll-tell-you-one-thing-you-re-going-to/) Judy Christie > [And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/and-he-caused-it-to-be-proclaimed-and-published-through-nineveh-by/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [Preppy from Nineveh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mj-mcguire/preppy-from-nineveh/) [MJ McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mj-mcguire/) > [“Nineveh represented the sin center of the world. Everything godless happened there; by all accounts its people were perverse, sadistic, and evil. The very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/nineveh-represented-the-sin-center-of-the-world-everything-godless/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir, Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine, With a cargo of ivory, And apes and peacocks, Sandalwood, cedarwood,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/quinquireme-of-nineveh-from-distant-ophir-rowing-home-to-haven-in/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [“He was commissioned to go east to Nineveh,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-was-commissioned-to-go-east-to-nineveh/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“No choice, then,” Holden said. “Let’s go to Nineveh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/no-choice-then-holden-said-let-s-go-to-nineveh/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) > [Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah/forty-more-days-and-nineveh-will-be-overthrown/) [Jonah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah/) > [Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah/go-to-the-great-city-of-nineveh-and-proclaim-to-it-the-message-i-give/) [Jonah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah/) > [“If a marriage is valued at ten thousand, surely I might have a waltz for three hundred." Her fingers clenched into very determined-looking fists.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-enoch/if-a-marriage-is-valued-at-ten-thousand-surely-i-might-have-a-waltz/) [Suzanne Enoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-enoch/) ## More by Kevin Powers > [There is a sharp distinction between what is remembered, what is told and what is true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/there-is-a-sharp-distinction-between-what-is-remembered-what-is-told/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [I guess I find the boundaries between poetry and prose to be somewhat permeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/i-guess-i-find-the-boundaries-between-poetry-and-prose-to-be-somewhat/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [“I didn't want to be responsible for him. I had enough to worry about. I was disintegrating, too. How was I supposed to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/i-didn-t-want-to-be-responsible-for-him-i-had-enough-to-worry-about-i/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [I had the feeling that if I encountered anyone they would intuit my disgrace and would judge me instantly. 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"It's statistics." Then he got up and left the room.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/people-are-going-to-die-he-said-flatly-it-s-statistics-then-he-got-up/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [“It's lovely to think that snow can be special. we're always told it is. Of all those million million flakes that fall, no two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/it-s-lovely-to-think-that-snow-can-be-special-we-re-always-told-it-is/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [The details of the world in which we live are always secondary to the fact that we must live in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/the-details-of-the-world-in-which-we-live-are-always-secondary-to-the/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [It reminded me of talking, how what is said is never quite what was thought, and what is heard is never quite what was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/it-reminded-me-of-talking-how-what-is-said-is-never-quite-what-was/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [“He waited, as if waiting for whichever last shadow would cause evening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/he-waited-as-if-waiting-for-whichever-last-shadow-would-cause-evening/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [“A moment is never long enough to account for tragedy when you are in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/a-moment-is-never-long-enough-to-account-for-tragedy-when-you-are-in/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [“I smelled the clean house and the wood-frame bed. It was all filler. The noise, the sound, they existed just to take up space.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/i-smelled-the-clean-house-and-the-wood-frame-bed-it-was-all-filler/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [“I would only sit muttering with envy for their broad umbrellas, their dryness, and the sweet, unwounded banality of their lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/i-would-only-sit-muttering-with-envy-for-their-broad-umbrellas-their/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) [Explore all 73 Kevin Powers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) ## More Cities quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. 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One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) James Cross Giblin > [Nice is a city of ghosts and specters, but I hope not to become one of them right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/nice-is-a-city-of-ghosts-and-specters-but-i-hope-not-to-become-one-of/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [I know of not one Republican candidate that would not appear publicly with Mitt Romney and I know many Democrats that don't even want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/i-know-of-not-one-republican-candidate-that-would-not-appear-publicly/) [Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them we neglect the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-will-neglect-our-cities-to-our-peril-for-in-neglecting-them-we/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I didn't know the city at all, but I was so happy to be in New York I cried. I was so excited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/i-didn-t-know-the-city-at-all-but-i-was-so-happy-to-be-in-new-york-i/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [Outside of Paris, there is no hope for the cultured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/outside-of-paris-there-is-no-hope-for-the-cultured/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. 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I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 7,153 Cities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The war tried to kill us in the spring. As grass greened the plains of Nineveh and the weather warmed, we patrolled the low-slung hills beyond the cities and towns. We moved over them and through the tall grass on faith, kneading paths into the windswept growth like pioneers. 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