--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: before the gate -- my walking stick's…" description: "\"before the gate -- my walking stick's made a river of melting snow\" — Kobayashi Issa" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/kobayashi-issa-24740_gates_before-the-gate-my-walking-stick-s-made_901082.jpg" --- # before the gate -- my walking stick's made a river of… ![“before the gate -- my walking stick's made a river of melting snow” quote by Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/kobayashi-issa-24740_gates_before-the-gate-my-walking-stick-s-made_901082.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/kobayashi-issa-24740_gates_before-the-gate-my-walking-stick-s-made_901082.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/kobayashi-issa-24740_gates_before-the-gate-my-walking-stick-s-made_901082.jpg) > “before the gate -- my walking stick's made a river of melting snow” [Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A simple walking stick transforms the landscape into a flowing river of meltwater, symbolizing how ordinary tools can shape nature. **In simple terms:** A stick turns snow into a river. Key Takeaway Notice how small actions alter surroundings. Themes nature transformation mindfulness Mood reflective contemplative Type poetic inspirational When to use this quote - hiking - winter walks - meditation - creative writing Key Concepts impermanence perception Questions to Reflect On - How do everyday tools change your view of the world? - What does the river represent to you? A Different Perspective The metaphor may over‑romanticize mundane objects. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Melting snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melting-snow/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snow/) ## Related quotes > [“Eyes like streams of melting snow, Cold with the things she does not know, Heaven above and Hell benieth, Liquid flames to hold her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/eyes-like-streams-of-melting-snow-cold-with-the-things-she-does-not-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Eyes like streams of melting snow, cold with the things she does not know. Heaven above and Hell beneath, liquid flames to hide her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/eyes-like-streams-of-melting-snow-cold-with-the-things-she-does-not/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [I hear the sounds of melting snow outside my window every night and with the first faint scent of spring, I remember life exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hear-the-sounds-of-melting-snow-outside-my-window-every-night-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“For I am soft and made of melting snow;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-elizabeth-i/for-i-am-soft-and-made-of-melting-snow/) [Queen Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-elizabeth-i/) > [Be melting snow. Wash yourself of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/be-melting-snow-wash-yourself-of-yourself/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [I'm like the weather, never really can predict when this rain cloud's gonna burst; when it's the high or it's the low, when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-shihab-nye/i-m-like-the-weather-never-really-can-predict-when-this-rain-cloud-s/) [Naomi Shihab Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-shihab-nye/) > [Eyes like streams of melting snow,” she said, and it was all I could do not to roll my melting snow eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/eyes-like-streams-of-melting-snow-she-said-and-it-was-all-i-could-do/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [“Let’s see, how did that one go…'Eyes like streams of melting snow,’ and so striking, by the way. ‘Cold with the things she does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/let-s-see-how-did-that-one-go-eyes-like-streams-of-melting-snow-and/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [This is the equivalent of an “internal shower”. As the spring freshness born of the heavy rains and vast masses of melting snows on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pilates/this-is-the-equivalent-of-an-internal-shower-as-the-spring-freshness/) [Joseph Pilates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pilates/) > [Streams of melting snow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/streams-of-melting-snow/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [Down that path lies madness. On the other hand, the road to hell is paved with melting snowballs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/down-that-path-lies-madness-on-the-other-hand-the-road-to-hell-is/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [“You can use a spear as a walking stick, but that will not change its nature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/you-can-use-a-spear-as-a-walking-stick-but-that-will-not-change-its/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [A stroke of a man knocking a thistle top with a walking stick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-arlott/a-stroke-of-a-man-knocking-a-thistle-top-with-a-walking-stick/) [John Arlott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-arlott/) > [“As long as you can walk, you will find a walking stick. As long as you are brave, someone will help you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-george/as-long-as-you-can-walk-you-will-find-a-walking-stick-as-long-as-you/) [Nina George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-george/) > [Beware of the man who will not engage in idle conversation; he is planning to steal your walking stick or water your stock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-emerson/beware-of-the-man-who-will-not-engage-in-idle-conversation-he-is/) William Emerson ## More by Kobayashi Issa > [Don't weep, insects -- Lovers, stars themselves, Must part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/don-t-weep-insects-lovers-stars-themselves-must-part/) [Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) > [Face of the spring moon- about twelve years old, I'd say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/face-of-the-spring-moon-about-twelve-years-old-i-d-say/) [Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) > [“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/) > [Carrying a poppy he passes through the quarrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/carrying-a-poppy-he-passes-through-the-quarrel/) [Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) > [Summer night-- even the stars are whispering to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/summer-night-even-the-stars-are-whispering-to-each-other/) [Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) > [“Never forget: we walk on hell, gazing at flowers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/never-forget-we-walk-on-hell-gazing-at-flowers/) [Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) > [Where there are humans, You'll find flies, And Buddhas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/where-there-are-humans-you-ll-find-flies-and-buddhas/) [Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) > [To the fuki plant, dandelions, and their kind that lie for long patiently under the fallen snow, comes the season of breezy spring. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/to-the-fuki-plant-dandelions-and-their-kind-that-lie-for-long/) [Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) > [What a strange thing! to be alive beneath cherry blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/what-a-strange-thing-to-be-alive-beneath-cherry-blossoms/) [Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) > [Don't worry, spiders, I keep house casually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/don-t-worry-spiders-i-keep-house-casually/) [Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) > [In spring rain a pretty girl yawning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/in-spring-rain-a-pretty-girl-yawning/) [Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) > [Take a nap Making the mountain water Pound the rice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/take-a-nap-making-the-mountain-water-pound-the-rice/) [Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) > [All the time I pray to Buddha I keep on killing mosquitoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/all-the-time-i-pray-to-buddha-i-keep-on-killing-mosquitoes/) [Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) > [In this world we walk on the roof of hell gazing at flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/in-this-world-we-walk-on-the-roof-of-hell-gazing-at-flowers/) [Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) > [“The children imitating the cormorants, Are more wonderful Than the real cormorants”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/the-children-imitating-the-cormorants-are-more-wonderful-than-the/) [Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) [Explore all 24 Kobayashi Issa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/) ## More Flower quotes > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Most girls get flowers or candy. I get a declaration of martial law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-shearin/most-girls-get-flowers-or-candy-i-get-a-declaration-of-martial-law/) [Lisa Shearin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-shearin/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Spring training means flowers, people coming outdoors, sunshine, optimism and baseball. Spring training is a time to think about being young again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-banks/spring-training-means-flowers-people-coming-outdoors-sunshine/) [Ernie Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-banks/) > [Sometimes, sometimes it is really difficult to turn and walk away from someone you have loved and cherished for so long. You know deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kreger/sometimes-sometimes-it-is-really-difficult-to-turn-and-walk-away-from/) [David Kreger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kreger/) > [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/) > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-o-connell/my-days-the-blossom-of-my-youth-and-the-flower-of-my-manhood-have/) [Daniel O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-o-connell/) > [My life is a crystal teardrop. There are snowflakes falling in the teardrop and little figures trudging in slow motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-baez/my-life-is-a-crystal-teardrop-there-are-snowflakes-falling-in-the/) [Joan Baez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-baez/) > [“But any picture could deal with the problem of light. The problem with this picture is greater than that of reflective surfaces - it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/but-any-picture-could-deal-with-the-problem-of-light-the-problem-with/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Sometimes it's about less is more. It's about the seed. Thinking about this gigantic tree that you think is so beautiful but it started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/sometimes-it-s-about-less-is-more-it-s-about-the-seed-thinking-about/) [Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) [Browse all 12,347 Flower quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "before the gate -- my walking stick's made a river of melting snow", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kobayashi Issa" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/before-the-gate-my-walking-stick-s-made-a-river-of-melting-snow/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Flower" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/before-the-gate-my-walking-stick-s-made-a-river-of-melting-snow/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/kobayashi-issa-24740_gates_before-the-gate-my-walking-stick-s-made_901082.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/kobayashi-issa-24740_gates_before-the-gate-my-walking-stick-s-made_901082.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/kobayashi-issa-24740_gates_before-the-gate-my-walking-stick-s-made_901082.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“before the gate -- my walking stick's made a river of melting snow” — Kobayashi Issa", "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": "Kobayashi Issa", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "before the gate -- my walking...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/before-the-gate-my-walking-stick-s-made-a-river-of-melting-snow/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/before-the-gate-my-walking-stick-s-made-a-river-of-melting-snow/#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 } } ] } ```