--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But suppose the endlessly dead were to…" description: "\"But suppose the endlessly dead were to wake in us some emblem: they might point to the catkins hanging from the empty hazel trees, or direct us to the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/rainer-maria-rilke-193_black_but-suppose-the-endlessly-dead-were-to-w_1599225.jpg" --- # But suppose the endlessly dead were to wake in us some… ![“But suppose the endlessly dead were to wake in us some emblem: they might point to the catkins hanging from the empty hazel trees, or direct us to the rain descending on black earth in early spring. --- And we, who always think of happiness rising, would feel the emotion that almost baffles us…” quote by Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/rainer-maria-rilke-193_black_but-suppose-the-endlessly-dead-were-to-w_1599225.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/rainer-maria-rilke-193_black_but-suppose-the-endlessly-dead-were-to-w_1599225.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/rainer-maria-rilke-193_black_but-suppose-the-endlessly-dead-were-to-w_1599225.jpg) > “But suppose the endlessly dead were to wake in us some emblem: they might point to the catkins hanging from the empty hazel trees, or direct us to the rain descending on black earth in early spring. --- And we, who always think of happiness rising, would feel the emotion that almost baffles us when a happy thing falls.” [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even dead symbols can awaken us to subtle beauty in ordinary things, revealing hidden emotions when joy is lost. **In simple terms:** Dead symbols awaken hidden feelings. Key Takeaway Notice subtle beauty in loss. Themes loss beauty awakening Mood melancholic thoughtful Type poetic reflective When to use this quote - grieving - art appreciation - walking in nature - reading poetry Key Concepts symbolism emotional resonance Questions to Reflect On - What ordinary detail could become a symbol for you? - How does loss change your perception of beauty? A Different Perspective Interpretation may be overly abstract for some. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Early spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early-spring/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) ## Related quotes > [“yoga soul today. instant resonation. Spring Somewhere a black bear has just risen from sleep and is staring down the mountain. All night in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/yoga-soul-today-instant-resonation-spring-somewhere-a-black-bear-has/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Happiness is rising around the world to me to get hyper when I see my children give aslight smile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/happiness-is-rising-around-the-world-to-me-to-get-hyper-when-i-see-my/) Mak\_786 > [Happiness is a social creature. If you try to pursue it in a vacuum, it's very difficult to sustain it. But as soon as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-achor/happiness-is-a-social-creature-if-you-try-to-pursue-it-in-a-vacuum-it/) [Shawn Achor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-achor/) > [“The moon is high up in the sky and it’s spring. I think of you and within myself I’m complete. A light breeze comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-moon-is-high-up-in-the-sky-and-it-s-spring-i-think-of-you-and/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [I never see that prettiest thing- A cherry bough gone white with Spring- But what I think, "How gay 'twould be To hang me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/i-never-see-that-prettiest-thing-a-cherry-bough-gone-white-with/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [The Arab Spring I think we will look back whether it's two years, five years, ten or fifteen. And say it's a good thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-arab-spring-i-think-we-will-look-back-whether-it-s-two-years-five/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As an actress, I was trained to show emotion I did not feel, or no emotion at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tierney/as-an-actress-i-was-trained-to-show-emotion-i-did-not-feel-or-no/) [Gene Tierney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tierney/) > [“You are no longer human, with all those depths and highs and nuances of emotion that define you as a person. There is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-wood/you-are-no-longer-human-with-all-those-depths-and-highs-and-nuances/) [Jake Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-wood/) > [It was almost enough to make me feel emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/it-was-almost-enough-to-make-me-feel-emotion/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [I am so happy when I feel emotion about the way my team plays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pep-guardiola/i-am-so-happy-when-i-feel-emotion-about-the-way-my-team-plays/) [Pep Guardiola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pep-guardiola/) > [Whether it's an inspiring song or whether it's an entertaining song - whatever it might be about it - I just want people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-gokey/whether-it-s-an-inspiring-song-or-whether-it-s-an-entertaining-song/) [Danny Gokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-gokey/) > [That's the mark of a really great actor, when he can make you feel the emotion without having to search for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omarion/that-s-the-mark-of-a-really-great-actor-when-he-can-make-you-feel-the/) [Omarion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omarion/) > [One day, I want to be able to stand with my head up proud. I want to be able to hear people say how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiana-webb/one-day-i-want-to-be-able-to-stand-with-my-head-up-proud-i-want-to-be/) [Tiana Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiana-webb/) > [If you feel more emotion looking at a picture of queuing lorries than a picture of desperate humans living in a lay-by, you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-boyle/if-you-feel-more-emotion-looking-at-a-picture-of-queuing-lorries-than/) [Frankie Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-boyle/) > [Never be ashamed of what you feel. You have the right to feel any emotion that you want, and to do what makes you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/never-be-ashamed-of-what-you-feel-you-have-the-right-to-feel-any/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) ## More by Rainer Maria Rilke > [The artist's experience lies so unbelievably close to the sexual, to its pain and its pleasure, that the two phenomena are really just different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-artist-s-experience-lies-so-unbelievably-close-to-the-sexual-to/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Out of infinite longings rise finite deeds like weak fountains, falling back just in time and trembling. And yet, what otherwise remains silent, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/out-of-infinite-longings-rise-finite-deeds-like-weak-fountains/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“I love the dark hours of my being. My mind deepens into them. There I can find, as in old letters, the days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-love-the-dark-hours-of-my-being-my-mind-deepens-into-them-there-i/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“A complete sharing between two people is an impossibility and whenever it seems, nevertheless, to exist, it is a narrowing, a mutual agreement which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/a-complete-sharing-between-two-people-is-an-impossibility-and/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“But this is what ... people are so often and disastrously wrong in doing: they (who by their very nature are impatient) fling themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/but-this-is-what-people-are-so-often-and-disastrously-wrong-in-doing/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“If there is nothing you can share with other people, try to be close to Things. Things will not abandon you. The nights are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/if-there-is-nothing-you-can-share-with-other-people-try-to-be-close/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [To be here is immense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/to-be-here-is-immense/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Sin is the most wonderfully roundabout path to God”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/sin-is-the-most-wonderfully-roundabout-path-to-god/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Swells, Marina? we ocean, depths, Marina? we sky!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/swells-marina-we-ocean-depths-marina-we-sky/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“The point of marriage is not to create a quick commonality by tearing down all boundaries; on the contrary, a good marriage is one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-point-of-marriage-is-not-to-create-a-quick-commonality-by-tearing/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [You life will find its own paths... and that they be good, rich, and wide is what I wish for you, more than I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/you-life-will-find-its-own-paths-and-that-they-be-good-rich-and-wide/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [I do not want to be folded for where I am folded, there I am a lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-do-not-want-to-be-folded-for-where-i-am-folded-there-i-am-a-lie/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [At no other time (than autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth; in a smell that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/at-no-other-time-than-autumn-does-the-earth-let-itself-be-inhaled-in/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“That is why the sadness passes: the new presence inside us, the presence that has been added, has entered our heart, has gone into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/that-is-why-the-sadness-passes-the-new-presence-inside-us-the/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms, like books written in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/have-patience-with-everything-that-remains-unsolved-in-your-heart-try/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) [Explore all 861 Rainer Maria Rilke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) ## More Black quotes > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [How can you be more subject; black woman in a white man's world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/how-can-you-be-more-subject-black-woman-in-a-white-man-s-world/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) Frank B. Wilderson III > [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/if-soot-stains-your-tunic-dye-it-black-this-is-vengeance/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) Browse all 11,655 Black quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But suppose the endlessly dead were to wake in us some emblem: they might point to the catkins hanging from the empty hazel trees, or direct us to the rain descending on black earth in early spring. --- And we, who always think of happiness rising, would feel the emotion that almost baffles us when a happy thing falls.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rainer Maria Rilke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/but-suppose-the-endlessly-dead-were-to-wake-in-us-some-emblem-they/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Black" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/but-suppose-the-endlessly-dead-were-to-wake-in-us-some-emblem-they/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/rainer-maria-rilke-193_black_but-suppose-the-endlessly-dead-were-to-w_1599225.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/rainer-maria-rilke-193_black_but-suppose-the-endlessly-dead-were-to-w_1599225.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/rainer-maria-rilke-193_black_but-suppose-the-endlessly-dead-were-to-w_1599225.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But suppose the endlessly dead were to wake in us some emblem: they might point to the catkins hanging from…” — Rainer Maria Rilke", "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": "Rainer Maria Rilke", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But suppose the endlessly dead were...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/but-suppose-the-endlessly-dead-were-to-wake-in-us-some-emblem-they/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/but-suppose-the-endlessly-dead-were-to-wake-in-us-some-emblem-they/#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 } } ] } ```