--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Across the downs a hummingbird Came…" description: "\"Across the downs a hummingbird Came dipping through the bowers, He pivoted on emptiness To scrutinize the flowers.\" — Nathalia Crane" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/nathalia-crane-25752_emptiness_across-the-downs-a-hummingbird-came-dipp_730150.jpg" --- # Across the downs a hummingbird Came dipping through the… ![“Across the downs a hummingbird Came dipping through the bowers, He pivoted on emptiness To scrutinize the flowers.” quote by Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/nathalia-crane-25752_emptiness_across-the-downs-a-hummingbird-came-dipp_730150.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/nathalia-crane-25752_emptiness_across-the-downs-a-hummingbird-came-dipp_730150.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/nathalia-crane-25752_emptiness_across-the-downs-a-hummingbird-came-dipp_730150.jpg) > “Across the downs a hummingbird Came dipping through the bowers, He pivoted on emptiness To scrutinize the flowers.” [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The hummingbird’s flight through emptiness symbolizes seeking beauty amid voids, urging close observation of fleeting moments. **In simple terms:** Bird seeks beauty in emptiness. Key Takeaway Observe and cherish small wonders. Themes nature beauty mindfulness transience Mood contemplative peaceful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - nature walks - meditation - photography - creative writing Key Concepts perception impermanence Questions to Reflect On - How do you find meaning in empty spaces? - What simple moments bring you joy? A Different Perspective Focusing too much on emptiness can cause melancholy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Hummingbird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hummingbird/) [Hummingbirds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hummingbirds/) ## Related quotes > [I'd like to be like a hummingbird. You see them every now and then. You don't see them everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shailene-woodley/i-d-like-to-be-like-a-hummingbird-you-see-them-every-now-and-then-you/) [Shailene Woodley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shailene-woodley/) > [My mind, I know, I can prove, hovers on hummingbird wings. It hovers and it churns. And when it's operating at full thrust, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/my-mind-i-know-i-can-prove-hovers-on-hummingbird-wings-it-hovers-and/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [As long as the hummingbird had not abandoned the land, somewhere there were still flowers, and they could all go on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-marmon-silko/as-long-as-the-hummingbird-had-not-abandoned-the-land-somewhere-there/) [Leslie Marmon Silko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-marmon-silko/) > [One day a hummingbird flew in-- It fluttered against the window til I got it down where I could reach it with an open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/one-day-a-hummingbird-flew-in-it-fluttered-against-the-window-til-i/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [In Mexico people wear hummingbird amulets around their necks to show they are searching for love. Here people pretend that they aren’t. Searching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/in-mexico-people-wear-hummingbird-amulets-around-their-necks-to-show/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [ Most elegantly finished in all parts, \[the hummingbird\] is a miniature work of our Great Parent, who seems to have formed it the smallest,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-hector-st-john-de-crevecoeur/most-elegantly-finished-in-all-parts-the-hummingbird-is-a-miniature/) J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur > [“Wings are of many kinds. Butterfly's wings, vulture's wings, eagle-wings, spread wings of white swans, dragonfly's serene wings, wings of albatross, lovely wings of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munia-khan/wings-are-of-many-kinds-butterfly-s-wings-vulture-s-wings-eagle-wings/) [Munia Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munia-khan/) > [He has the attention span of a hummingbird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/he-has-the-attention-span-of-a-hummingbird/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [Much still remains to be learned about his sex life because the Hummingbird is quicker than the eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cuppy/much-still-remains-to-be-learned-about-his-sex-life-because-the/) [Will Cuppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cuppy/) > [I'd written a lot of songs with hummingbirds in them. None of them ever came to anything, but I did write a few lines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/i-d-written-a-lot-of-songs-with-hummingbirds-in-them-none-of-them/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [ We’re constantly being bombarded by problems that we face and sometimes we can get completely overwhelmed. \[But\] we should always feel like a hummingbird.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/we-re-constantly-being-bombarded-by-problems-that-we-face-and/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [Gentle day's flower - The hummingbird competes With the stillness of the air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/gentle-day-s-flower-the-hummingbird-competes-with-the-stillness-of/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [I'm more of a culture hummingbird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jai-rodriguez/i-m-more-of-a-culture-hummingbird/) [Jai Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jai-rodriguez/) > [I had the metabolism of a hummingbird on crack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/i-had-the-metabolism-of-a-hummingbird-on-crack/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [ I always loved those little creatures \[hummingbird\], always feel blessed when they appear nearby. There's a magical quality to them. I finally put one… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/i-always-loved-those-little-creatures-hummingbird-always-feel-blessed/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) ## More by Nathalia Crane > [There is a glory in a great mistake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/there-is-a-glory-in-a-great-mistake/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [The very serpents bite their tails; the bees forget to sting, For a language so celestial setteth up a wondering. And the touch of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/the-very-serpents-bite-their-tails-the-bees-forget-to-sting-for-a/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [Lo and behold! God made this starry wold, The maggot and the mold; lo and behold! He taught the grass contentment blade by blade,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/lo-and-behold-god-made-this-starry-wold-the-maggot-and-the-mold-lo/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [You cannot choose your battlefield, The Gods do that for you; But you can plant a standard Where a standard never flew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/you-cannot-choose-your-battlefield-the-gods-do-that-for-you-but-you/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [I linger on the flathouse roof, the moonlight is divine. But my heart is all aflutter like the washing on the line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/i-linger-on-the-flathouse-roof-the-moonlight-is-divine-but-my-heart/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [Oh I'm in love with the janitor's boy, And the janitor's boy loves me; He's going to hunt for a desert isle In our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/oh-i-m-in-love-with-the-janitor-s-boy-and-the-janitor-s-boy-loves-me/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [When you return, the youngest of the seers, Released from fetters of ancestral pose, There will be beauty waiting down the years Revisions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/when-you-return-the-youngest-of-the-seers-released-from-fetters-of/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [The rose has told In one simplicity That never life Relinquishes a bloom But to bestow An ancient confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/the-rose-has-told-in-one-simplicity-that-never-life-relinquishes-a/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [Great is the rose Infected by the tomb, Yet burgeoning Indifferent to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/great-is-the-rose-infected-by-the-tomb-yet-burgeoning-indifferent-to/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [Great is the rose That challenges the crypt, And quotes milleniums Against the grave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/great-is-the-rose-that-challenges-the-crypt-and-quotes-milleniums/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [Once a pallid Vestal Doubted truth in blue; Listed red in ruin, Harried every hue; Barricaded vision, Garbed herself in sighs; Ridiculed the birthmarks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/once-a-pallid-vestal-doubted-truth-in-blue-listed-red-in-ruin-harried/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [The world is growing gentle, But few know what she owes To the understanding lily And the judgment of the rose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/the-world-is-growing-gentle-but-few-know-what-she-owes-to-the/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [A precious place is Paradise and none may know its worth, But Eden ever longeth for the knicknacks of the earth. The angels grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/a-precious-place-is-paradise-and-none-may-know-its-worth-but-eden/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [“You cannot choose your battlefield, God does that for you; But you can plant a standard Where a standard never flew. (From The Colors )”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/you-cannot-choose-your-battlefield-god-does-that-for-you-but-you-can/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [The sign work of the Orient it runneth up and down; The Talmud stalks from right to left, a rabbi in a gown; The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/the-sign-work-of-the-orient-it-runneth-up-and-down-the-talmud-stalks/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) [Explore all 22 Nathalia Crane quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) ## More Emptiness quotes > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/go-into-emptiness-strike-voids-bypass-what-he-defends-hit-him-where/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“ Desolation would not be the proper word to describe his feelings now; it was more the sense of emptiness he imagined he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shusaku-endo/desolation-would-not-be-the-proper-word-to-describe-his-feelings-now/) [Shusaku Endo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shusaku-endo/) > [“those of little merit would not even have doubts about this doctrine of emptiness. even suspicion that objects are empty wrecks the seeds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aryadeva/those-of-little-merit-would-not-even-have-doubts-about-this-doctrine/) aryadeva > [Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/anyone-whose-goal-is-something-higher-must-expect-someday-to-suffer-2/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“I close my eyes and I let my body shut itself down and I let my mind wander. It wanders to a familiar place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-close-my-eyes-and-i-let-my-body-shut-itself-down-and-i-let-my-mind/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Only the thirsty knows the real taste of water; only the lonely knows the real weight of emptiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/only-the-thirsty-knows-the-real-taste-of-water-only-the-lonely-knows/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [What I was trying to convey there was the kind of waste land that was left after the war. It was a bit like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-martin/what-i-was-trying-to-convey-there-was-the-kind-of-waste-land-that-was/) [George Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-martin/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [But what was there to say? Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/but-what-was-there-to-say-only-that-there-were-tears-only-that/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I got this emptiness inside that got me fighting for approval because I missed out on my daddy saying, Way to Go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-got-this-emptiness-inside-that-got-me-fighting-for-approval-because/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“As we see it, space is possible only when the primordial Being swallows emptiness. Space is born when the Being accepts emptiness, the Nonbeing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/as-we-see-it-space-is-possible-only-when-the-primordial-being/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) [Browse all 1,374 Emptiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Across the downs a hummingbird Came dipping through the bowers, He pivoted on emptiness To scrutinize the flowers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nathalia Crane" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/across-the-downs-a-hummingbird-came-dipping-through-the-bowers-he/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Emptiness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/across-the-downs-a-hummingbird-came-dipping-through-the-bowers-he/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/nathalia-crane-25752_emptiness_across-the-downs-a-hummingbird-came-dipp_730150.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/nathalia-crane-25752_emptiness_across-the-downs-a-hummingbird-came-dipp_730150.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/nathalia-crane-25752_emptiness_across-the-downs-a-hummingbird-came-dipp_730150.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Across the downs a hummingbird Came dipping through the bowers, He pivoted on emptiness To scrutinize the…” — Nathalia Crane", "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": "Nathalia Crane", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Across the downs a hummingbird Came...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/across-the-downs-a-hummingbird-came-dipping-through-the-bowers-he/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/across-the-downs-a-hummingbird-came-dipping-through-the-bowers-he/#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 } } ] } ```