--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Death is only an old door Set in a garden…" description: "\"Death is only an old door Set in a garden wall; On quiet hinges it gives, at dusk When the thrushes call. Along the lintel are green leaves, Beyond, th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/079/nancy-byrd-turner-33729_death_death-is-only-an-old-door-set-in-a-garde_2260570.jpg" --- # Death is only an old door Set in a garden wall; On quiet… ![“Death is only an old door Set in a garden wall; On quiet hinges it gives, at dusk When the thrushes call. Along the lintel are green leaves, Beyond, the light lies still; Very weary and willing feet Go over that sill. There is nothing to trouble any heart; Nothing to hurt at all. Death is only an…” quote by Nancy Byrd Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/079/nancy-byrd-turner-33729_death_death-is-only-an-old-door-set-in-a-garde_2260570.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/079/nancy-byrd-turner-33729_death_death-is-only-an-old-door-set-in-a-garde_2260570.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/079/nancy-byrd-turner-33729_death_death-is-only-an-old-door-set-in-a-garde_2260570.jpg) > “Death is only an old door Set in a garden wall; On quiet hinges it gives, at dusk When the thrushes call. Along the lintel are green leaves, Beyond, the light lies still; Very weary and willing feet Go over that sill. There is nothing to trouble any heart; Nothing to hurt at all. Death is only an old door In a garden wall.” [Nancy Byrd Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-byrd-turner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Uses garden imagery to portray death as a gentle, natural transition rather than something to fear. **In simple terms:** Death is a calm doorway. Key Takeaway Embrace death as a natural part of life. Themes mortality nature peace Mood tranquil solemn Type reflective poetic When to use this quote - grieving - funeral planning - mindfulness practice Key Concepts Existentialism symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How does nature help you accept mortality? - What rituals bring comfort at life's end? A Different Perspective Some may view death as terrifying. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Dusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dusk/) [Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garden/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) ## Related quotes > [Death is only an old door/Set in a garden wall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-byrd-turner/death-is-only-an-old-door-set-in-a-garden-wall/) [Nancy Byrd Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-byrd-turner/) > [“Could beauty be caught and hurt they had done her to death with their sneers in ages and ages past, could beauty be sacrificed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d/could-beauty-be-caught-and-hurt-they-had-done-her-to-death-with-their/) H.D > [It’s pretty impossible to hurt what Death protects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/it-s-pretty-impossible-to-hurt-what-death-protects/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [Waiting for your knock, dear, on my old front door. I don't hear it...does it mean you don't love me anymore?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/waiting-for-your-knock-dear-on-my-old-front-door-i-don-t-hear-it-does/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you don't have a new door to walk through, the only thing is the old door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-burton/if-you-don-t-have-a-new-door-to-walk-through-the-only-thing-is-the/) [Susan Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-burton/) > [“Like an old door, ever man past a certain age comes with historical warps and creaks of one kind or another, and a woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/like-an-old-door-ever-man-past-a-certain-age-comes-with-historical/) [Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/) > [There is something tenderly appropriate in the serene death of the old. . . . When the duties of life have all been nobly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/there-is-something-tenderly-appropriate-in-the-serene-death-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [“For Montaigne, the death of youth, which so often takes place unnoticed is the harder death; what we habitually refer to as 'death' is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/for-montaigne-the-death-of-youth-which-so-often-takes-place-unnoticed/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Let us ease the Roman people of their continual care, who think it long to await the death of an old man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannibal/let-us-ease-the-roman-people-of-their-continual-care-who-think-it/) [Hannibal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannibal/) > [“Why don’t we all live for a longer time? 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I believe death for humans is the way of getting rid of accumulated errors - as in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-dyson/i-am-not-in-favor-of-immortality-i-believe-death-for-humans-is-the/) [Esther Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-dyson/) > [Love, in the sense of spontaneous, unreflective action, spells the death of the old man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/love-in-the-sense-of-spontaneous-unreflective-action-spells-the-death/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [From the death of the old the new proceeds, and the life of truth from the death of creeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/from-the-death-of-the-old-the-new-proceeds-and-the-life-of-truth-from/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [Children are much more understanding of the suddenness and arbitrariness of death than we are. The old fairy tales contain a lot of that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-thompson/children-are-much-more-understanding-of-the-suddenness-and/) [Emma Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-thompson/) > [ “\[About the main character approaching death in old age, observed by her husband . . .\] He saw that she had already laid down… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-d-o-brien/about-the-main-character-approaching-death-in-old-age-observed-by-her/) [Michael D. O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-d-o-brien/) ## More by Nancy Byrd Turner > [“Distinctively gentle he was, and trustworthy, and of special courtesy. His great physical strength was never used in combat, men remembered, except when needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-byrd-turner/distinctively-gentle-he-was-and-trustworthy-and-of-special-courtesy/) [Nancy Byrd Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-byrd-turner/) > [“She saw at last that her strange son was fired by some purpose which he would carry out or die. Seeing that, she finally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-byrd-turner/she-saw-at-last-that-her-strange-son-was-fired-by-some-purpose-which/) [Nancy Byrd Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-byrd-turner/) > [Easter's nearly here, now - Sing, world, sing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-byrd-turner/easter-s-nearly-here-now-sing-world-sing/) [Nancy Byrd Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-byrd-turner/) > [“It is safe to say that not all the cooking and sewing and farm management of an entire year signified as much hard work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-byrd-turner/it-is-safe-to-say-that-not-all-the-cooking-and-sewing-and-farm/) [Nancy Byrd Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-byrd-turner/) > [“The trouble is, we are incurable sentimentalists. 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A stern one, perhaps, and autocratic at times, and somewhat hard--but after all and in spite of all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-byrd-turner/but-this-woman-was-all-mother-a-stern-one-perhaps-and-autocratic-at/) [Nancy Byrd Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-byrd-turner/) > [Death is only an old door/Set in a garden wall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-byrd-turner/death-is-only-an-old-door-set-in-a-garden-wall/) [Nancy Byrd Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-byrd-turner/) > [The Bookshop has a thousand books, All colors, hues, and tinges, And every cover is a door That turns on magic hinges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-byrd-turner/the-bookshop-has-a-thousand-books-all-colors-hues-and-tinges-and/) [Nancy Byrd Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-byrd-turner/) > [“By nature and by training this woman was all for conservation of life. 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Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Death is only an old door Set in a garden wall; On quiet hinges it gives, at dusk When the thrushes call. Along the lintel are green leaves, Beyond, the light lies still; Very weary and willing feet Go over that sill. There is nothing to trouble any heart; Nothing to hurt at all. 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