---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Around existence twine, (Oh, bridge that…"
description: "\"Around existence twine, (Oh, bridge that hangs across the gorge!) ropes of twisted vine.\" — Matsuo Basho"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e87/matsuo-basho-7207_bridges_around-existence-twine-oh-bridge-that-ha_667030.jpg"
---

#  Around existence twine, (Oh, bridge that hangs across the…

![“Around existence twine, (Oh, bridge that hangs across the gorge!) ropes of twisted vine.” quote by Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e87/matsuo-basho-7207_bridges_around-existence-twine-oh-bridge-that-ha_667030.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e87/matsuo-basho-7207_bridges_around-existence-twine-oh-bridge-that-ha_667030.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e87/matsuo-basho-7207_bridges_around-existence-twine-oh-bridge-that-ha_667030.jpg)

> “Around existence twine, (Oh, bridge that hangs across the gorge!) ropes of twisted vine.”

[Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/)

## 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 interconnected, like vines forming a bridge over a deep chasm, suggesting fragile connections that support us.

**In simple terms:** All things are linked like a bridge of vines.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and nurture the connections that hold you up.

Themes

interconnectedness fragility support

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

- relationships
- mental health
- teamwork
- environmental stewardship

Key Concepts

Buddhist philosophy nature metaphor

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you maintain balance in fragile connections?
- What supports your personal bridge?

A Different Perspective

The metaphor may oversimplify complex social structures.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bridges/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

## Related quotes

> [Gold was not altogether certain what, anatomically, a gorge was, but he knew that his was rising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/gold-was-not-altogether-certain-what-anatomically-a-gorge-was-but-he/)

[Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/)

> [I wouldn't get nearly as many books written if I lived in New York. The Columbia Gorge is fantastic. When the sun shines, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/i-wouldn-t-get-nearly-as-many-books-written-if-i-lived-in-new-york/)

[Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/)

> [“I'd give something to see that. Mostly, I'd just to look over the country around the gorge again, just to bring some of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/i-d-give-something-to-see-that-mostly-i-d-just-to-look-over-the/)

[Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/)

> [“Savor, don't gorge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving-author/savor-don-t-gorge/)

John Irving (Author

> [“Mostly, I'd just like to look over the country around the gorge again, just to bring some of it clear in my mind again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/mostly-i-d-just-like-to-look-over-the-country-around-the-gorge-again/)

[Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/)

> [Twine from trees and plants can make good floss!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-morasca/twine-from-trees-and-plants-can-make-good-floss/)

[Jenna Morasca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-morasca/)

> [“Curiosity dangled a length of twine in front of her, and like the impulsive kitten she was, Alannah almost reached out to grab it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laelia-starla/curiosity-dangled-a-length-of-twine-in-front-of-her-and-like-the/)

Laelia Starla

> [“Why allow the tendrils of the heart to twine around objects which may at any moment be wrenched away”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-jacobs/why-allow-the-tendrils-of-the-heart-to-twine-around-objects-which-may/)

[Harriet Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-jacobs/)

> [“It is right it should be so; Man was made for joy and woe; And when this we rightly know, Thro' the world we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/it-is-right-it-should-be-so-man-was-made-for-joy-and-woe-and-when-2/)

[William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/)

> [“So, Ariadne was the babe with the ball of twine and the plan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-cross/so-ariadne-was-the-babe-with-the-ball-of-twine-and-the-plan/)

[Claire Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-cross/)

> [Joy and woe are woven fine, A clothing for the soul divine. Under every grief and pine Runs a joy with silken twine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/joy-and-woe-are-woven-fine-a-clothing-for-the-soul-divine-under-every/)

[William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/)

> [Threads that drift alone will sometimes simply twine themselves together, without need for spindle or distaff: brought into each other’s ambit, they bind themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/threads-that-drift-alone-will-sometimes-simply-twine-themselves/)

[Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/)

> [It is manifestly contrary to the law of nature, however defined, that a handful of people should gorge themselves with superfluities while the hungry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/it-is-manifestly-contrary-to-the-law-of-nature-however-defined-that-a/)

[Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/)

> [Anyone who lives in a city will know the feeling of having been there too long. The gorge-vision that the streets imprint on us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-macfarlane/anyone-who-lives-in-a-city-will-know-the-feeling-of-having-been-there/)

[Robert Macfarlane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-macfarlane/)

> [Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath borne me on his back a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/alas-poor-yorick-i-knew-him-horatio-a-fellow-of-infinite-jest-of-most/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

## More by Matsuo Basho

> [Go to the pine if you want to learn about the pine, or to the bamboo if you want to learn about the bamboo.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/go-to-the-pine-if-you-want-to-learn-about-the-pine-or-to-the-bamboo/)

[Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/)

> [Without the bitterest cold that penetrates to the very bone, how can plum blossoms send forth their fragrance to the whole world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/without-the-bitterest-cold-that-penetrates-to-the-very-bone-how-can/)

[Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/)

> [Do not resemble me-Never be like a musk melon Cut in two identical halves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/do-not-resemble-me-never-be-like-a-musk-melon-cut-in-two-identical/)

[Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/)

> [When I speak My lips feel cold - The autumn wind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/when-i-speak-my-lips-feel-cold-the-autumn-wind/)

[Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/)

> [“In the end, without skill or talent, I've given myself over entirely to poetry. Po Chu-i labored at it until he nearly burst. Tu…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/in-the-end-without-skill-or-talent-i-ve-given-myself-over-entirely-to/)

[Matsuo Bashô](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/)

> [Nothing in the cry of cicadas suggests they are about to die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/nothing-in-the-cry-of-cicadas-suggests-they-are-about-to-die/)

[Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/)

> [A flute with no holes is not a flute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/a-flute-with-no-holes-is-not-a-flute/)

[Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/)

> [The sea darkens And a wild duck s call Is faintly white.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/the-sea-darkens-and-a-wild-duck-s-call-is-faintly-white/)

[Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/)

> [Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/do-not-seek-to-follow-in-the-footsteps-of-the-wise-seek-what-they/)

[Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/)

> [Learn the rules, and then forget them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/learn-the-rules-and-then-forget-them/)

[Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/)

> [Go to the object. Leave your subjective preoccupation with yourself. Do not impose yourself on the object. Become one with the object. Plunge deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/go-to-the-object-leave-your-subjective-preoccupation-with-yourself-do/)

[Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/)

> [A weathered skeleton in windy fields of memory, piercing like a knife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/a-weathered-skeleton-in-windy-fields-of-memory-piercing-like-a-knife/)

[Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/)

> [the universe and its beings are a complementarity of empty infinity, intimate interrelationships, and total uniqueness of each and every being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/the-universe-and-its-beings-are-a-complementarity-of-empty-infinity/)

[Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/)

> [The old pond, ah! A frog jumps in: The water's sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/the-old-pond-ah-a-frog-jumps-in-the-water-s-sound/)

[Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/)

> [Without bitterest cold that penetrates to the very bone, how can plum blossoms send forth their fragrance all over the world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/without-bitterest-cold-that-penetrates-to-the-very-bone-how-can-plum/)

[Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/)

[Explore all 93 Matsuo Basho quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/)

## More Bridges quotes

> [Poetry has, in a way, been my bridge to my acting career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omari-hardwick/poetry-has-in-a-way-been-my-bridge-to-my-acting-career/)

[Omari Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omari-hardwick/)

> [Nothing teaches great writing like the very best books do. Yet, good teachers often help students cross that bridge, and I have to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/nothing-teaches-great-writing-like-the-very-best-books-do-yet-good/)

[Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/)

> [In my rear view mirror the sun is going down sinking behind bridges in the road and I think of all the good things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/in-my-rear-view-mirror-the-sun-is-going-down-sinking-behind-bridges/)

[Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/)

> [My first big mistake was made when, in a moment of weakness, I consented to learn the game; for a man who can frankly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/my-first-big-mistake-was-made-when-in-a-moment-of-weakness-i/)

[Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/)

> [The WPA was one of the most productive elements of FDR's alphabet soup of agencies because it put people to work building roads, bridges,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-wpa-was-one-of-the-most-productive-elements-of-fdr-s-alphabet/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

> [The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sense-that-in-this-universe-we-are-treated-as-strangers-the/)

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

> [When you walk, try to think nothing! You can then obtain the silence of a streetlight or a bridge; stop thinking; after that, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/when-you-walk-try-to-think-nothing-you-can-then-obtain-the-silence-of/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&amp;P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/)

[Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/)

> [Al Pacino and Jeff Bridges do it for me in a big way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-scanlon/al-pacino-and-jeff-bridges-do-it-for-me-in-a-big-way/)

[Angela Scanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-scanlon/)

> [Instead of building castles against your enemies, build bridges for them to come to you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/instead-of-building-castles-against-your-enemies-build-bridges-for/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [Instead of finding himself in nerd heaven—where every nerd gets fifty-eight virgins to role-play with—he woke up in Robert Wood Johnson with two broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/instead-of-finding-himself-in-nerd-heaven-where-every-nerd-gets-fifty/)

[Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/)

> [Each person is an island unto himself, in a very real sense; and he can only build bridges to other islands if he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/each-person-is-an-island-unto-himself-in-a-very-real-sense-and-he-can/)

[Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/)

> [The real test of a bridge player isn’t in keeping out of trouble, but in escaping once he’s in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-sheinwold/the-real-test-of-a-bridge-player-isn-t-in-keeping-out-of-trouble-but/)

[Alfred Sheinwold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-sheinwold/)

> [The law ... allows rich as well as poor to sleep under bridges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/the-law-allows-rich-as-well-as-poor-to-sleep-under-bridges/)

[Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/)

> [Guys like Todd Bridges never overcame being a child star. You can't have any big failures. I've always felt regular. I played organized ball…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bow-wow/guys-like-todd-bridges-never-overcame-being-a-child-star-you-can-t/)

[Bow Wow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bow-wow/)

[Browse all 1,521 Bridges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bridges/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Around existence twine, (Oh, bridge that hangs across the gorge!) ropes of twisted vine.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Matsuo Basho"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/around-existence-twine-oh-bridge-that-hangs-across-the-gorge-ropes-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bridges"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/around-existence-twine-oh-bridge-that-hangs-across-the-gorge-ropes-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e87/matsuo-basho-7207_bridges_around-existence-twine-oh-bridge-that-ha_667030.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e87/matsuo-basho-7207_bridges_around-existence-twine-oh-bridge-that-ha_667030.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e87/matsuo-basho-7207_bridges_around-existence-twine-oh-bridge-that-ha_667030.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Around existence twine, (Oh, bridge that hangs across the gorge!) ropes of twisted vine.” — Matsuo Basho",
                "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": "Matsuo Basho",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Around existence twine, (Oh, bridge that...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/around-existence-twine-oh-bridge-that-hangs-across-the-gorge-ropes-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/around-existence-twine-oh-bridge-that-hangs-across-the-gorge-ropes-of/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
