--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The heart sags. My footprints forget me…" description: "\"The heart sags. My footprints forget me. I don’t think anything will ever be the same. This is the edge of the cliff and you can’t move, can’t jump. Ev..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/141/richard-jackson-29000_cliff_the-heart-sags-my-footprints-forget-me-i_2739698.jpg" --- # The heart sags. My footprints forget me. I don’t think… ![“The heart sags. My footprints forget me. I don’t think anything will ever be the same. This is the edge of the cliff and you can’t move, can’t jump. Everything is vertical. With binoculars you can see where you’ll be in an hour. Raindrops collect on the lens. A fine mist. It hides us. It drifts…” quote by Richard Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/141/richard-jackson-29000_cliff_the-heart-sags-my-footprints-forget-me-i_2739698.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/141/richard-jackson-29000_cliff_the-heart-sags-my-footprints-forget-me-i_2739698.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/141/richard-jackson-29000_cliff_the-heart-sags-my-footprints-forget-me-i_2739698.jpg) > “The heart sags. My footprints forget me. I don’t think anything will ever be the same. This is the edge of the cliff and you can’t move, can’t jump. Everything is vertical. With binoculars you can see where you’ll be in an hour. Raindrops collect on the lens. A fine mist. It hides us. It drifts into clocks. Gravity presses your hands. Some hurts never get said. Some get smuggled.” [Richard Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jackson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When facing a crisis, time feels frozen and perception blurs, yet small details hint at future direction. **In simple terms:** Crisis feels static, but clues point forward. Key Takeaway Observe subtle signs to navigate uncertainty. Themes crisis perception time Mood melancholic hopeful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - mountain climbing - creative block - emotional turmoil - decision making Key Concepts existentialism mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How do you find clarity in a stagnant moment? - What small detail can guide you forward? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex emotions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cliff/) [Cliffs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cliffs/) [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Drifts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drifts-815217/) [Edge Cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edge-cliff-471857/) [Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine/) [Footprint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/footprint/) [Footprints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/footprints/) [Footprints Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/footprints-forget-3018036/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Forget me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget-me/) [Gravity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gravity/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt/) [Lenses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lenses/) [Mist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mist/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Raindrops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raindrops/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“She had what I'd call a lemming ass - that is, an ass that you would follow right over the edge of the cliff.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/she-had-what-i-d-call-a-lemming-ass-that-is-an-ass-that-you-would/) [Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/) > [When they say love is solid ground,they didnt mention it was on the edge of a cliff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-they-say-love-is-solid-ground-they-didnt-mention-it-was-on-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is a walk to the edge of a cliff. Every day we get a step nearer and what lies over the brink, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/life-is-a-walk-to-the-edge-of-a-cliff-every-day-we-get-a-step-nearer/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [When civilization stands at the edge of a cliff, a step forward doesn't make much sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-hayes/when-civilization-stands-at-the-edge-of-a-cliff-a-step-forward-doesn/) [Denis Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-hayes/) > [“Sometimes you don't realize your fear of heights until you stand at the edge of the cliff, ready to jump.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bluemystique/sometimes-you-don-t-realize-your-fear-of-heights-until-you-stand-at/) [BlueMystique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bluemystique/) > [“Do you want to accomplish something difficult? Then go to the very edge of a cliff and stand there without thinking about the cliff!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/do-you-want-to-accomplish-something-difficult-then-go-to-the-very/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [As a kid, when I got to the edge of a cliff I wanted to jump off. I didn't want to kill myself. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-cruise/as-a-kid-when-i-got-to-the-edge-of-a-cliff-i-wanted-to-jump-off-i/) [Tom Cruise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-cruise/) > [When God leads u to the edge of the cliff,only one of these two things will happen: He will catch u when u fall,or…He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-god-leads-u-to-the-edge-of-the-cliff-only-one-of-these-two/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you edge towards a cliff slowly enough, you should be able to catch yourself before you topple over. Saturday”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayisha-malik/if-you-edge-towards-a-cliff-slowly-enough-you-should-be-able-to-catch/) [Ayisha Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayisha-malik/) > [My friends status said, standing on the edge of a cliff :/¦so I poked him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryah/my-friends-status-said-standing-on-the-edge-of-a-cliff-so-i-poked-him/) [Ryah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryah/) > [If God sends you to the edge of a cliff, only two things can happen: either He will teach you how to fly or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vida-asiedu/if-god-sends-you-to-the-edge-of-a-cliff-only-two-things-can-happen/) [Vida Asiedu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vida-asiedu/) > [When God sends you to the edge of the cliff there are two things that will happen: either God catches you or teach you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vida-asiedu/when-god-sends-you-to-the-edge-of-the-cliff-there-are-two-things-that/) [Vida Asiedu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vida-asiedu/) > [“I wasn’t wrecked, not by a long shot. But I’d come precariously close to standing on the edge of that cliff and thinking to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-reid/i-wasn-t-wrecked-not-by-a-long-shot-but-i-d-come-precariously-close/) [Penny Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-reid/) > [“Go to the edge of the cliff and jump off. Build your wings on the way down.--Ray Bradbury”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-k-thorne/go-to-the-edge-of-the-cliff-and-jump-off-build-your-wings-on-the-way/) [T.K. Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-k-thorne/) > [I've always had an interest in doing something that was outside my comfort zone; I had this thing about standing on the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mullen/i-ve-always-had-an-interest-in-doing-something-that-was-outside-my/) [Larry Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mullen/) ## More by Richard Jackson > [There is no need for a fear of losing control over who is accessing the network to hold back the productivity benefits of flexible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jackson/there-is-no-need-for-a-fear-of-losing-control-over-who-is-accessing/) [Richard Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jackson/) > [“Last night, the stars on the water were trap doors. The crows with their charred wings are complaining to a hawk. It’s time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jackson/last-night-the-stars-on-the-water-were-trap-doors-the-crows-with/) [Richard Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jackson/) > [“I am sorry my words sometimes frighten the fireflies from your dreams, I am sorry that battalions of doubt have pitched camp in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jackson/i-am-sorry-my-words-sometimes-frighten-the-fireflies-from-your-dreams/) [Richard Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jackson/) > [“This afternoon a flock of doves settled on my porch. Their silence took the shape of all I ever wanted to say. Today, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jackson/this-afternoon-a-flock-of-doves-settled-on-my-porch-their-silence/) [Richard Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jackson/) > [“My own words cast a shadow a never meant. Please forget them. Or not. The shadows we speak sometimes are what tell us how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jackson/my-own-words-cast-a-shadow-a-never-meant-please-forget-them-or-not/) [Richard Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jackson/) > [One third of all of our cancers are from tobacco. It's one of the big killers in America and more than half of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jackson/one-third-of-all-of-our-cancers-are-from-tobacco-it-s-one-of-the-big/) [Richard Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jackson/) > [The thing is to sift out the important sounds, little syllables and vowels that bring hints of their lost words, and not to mistake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jackson/the-thing-is-to-sift-out-the-important-sounds-little-syllables-and/) [Richard Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jackson/) > [Can you imagine a silence so desperate to be heard?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jackson/can-you-imagine-a-silence-so-desperate-to-be-heard/) [Richard Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jackson/) > [“Light staggers through the trees. Every moment is filled with other moments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jackson/light-staggers-through-the-trees-every-moment-is-filled-with-other/) [Richard Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jackson/) > [“I don’t want to see you caught like a word in that last line. What does the nightingale do when it runs out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jackson/i-don-t-want-to-see-you-caught-like-a-word-in-that-last-line-what/) [Richard Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jackson/) > [“One time, your heart almost slipped away on a river barge. Your hands seemed to claw the sky. I’m sorry. No one else made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jackson/one-time-your-heart-almost-slipped-away-on-a-river-barge-your-hands/) [Richard Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jackson/) > [“I have only these words that seem as if they climbed up from the bottom of a dry well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jackson/i-have-only-these-words-that-seem-as-if-they-climbed-up-from-the/) [Richard Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jackson/) > [Some days you exist like the last speaker of an extinct language. These are the silences that litter the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jackson/some-days-you-exist-like-the-last-speaker-of-an-extinct-language/) [Richard Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jackson/) > [Young people think they know it all, but a lot of old salts around know they don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jackson/young-people-think-they-know-it-all-but-a-lot-of-old-salts-around/) [Richard Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jackson/) > [“We come from a place that has always been inside us. Our words migrate helplessly. The world reflects only itself. Which is why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jackson/we-come-from-a-place-that-has-always-been-inside-us-our-words-migrate/) [Richard Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jackson/) [Explore all 19 Richard Jackson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jackson/) ## More Cliff quotes > [The unemployed in Greece can get a voucher and choose a training program somewhere in Europe to be retrained during this crisis and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-papandreou/the-unemployed-in-greece-can-get-a-voucher-and-choose-a-training/) [George Papandreou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-papandreou/) > [“Cliff took his arm from my shoulder and raised both hands high. "Go. Be gone!" All of the birds stopped shrieking”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-claflin/cliff-took-his-arm-from-my-shoulder-and-raised-both-hands-high-go-be/) [Stacy Claflin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-claflin/) > [Sometimes I think my past life was unrealized. I met a tragic end - it might have been a car over a cliff. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-ebersole/sometimes-i-think-my-past-life-was-unrealized-i-met-a-tragic-end-it/) [Christine Ebersole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-ebersole/) > [Let's push the Pentagon off the fiscal cliff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sheehan/let-s-push-the-pentagon-off-the-fiscal-cliff/) [Cindy Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sheehan/) > [“She had what I'd call a lemming ass - that is, an ass that you would follow right over the edge of the cliff.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/she-had-what-i-d-call-a-lemming-ass-that-is-an-ass-that-you-would/) [Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/) > [I'm not a lemming about to run off the end of a cliff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-roeder/i-m-not-a-lemming-about-to-run-off-the-end-of-a-cliff/) [Glenn Roeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-roeder/) > [Wow! We beat him! I mean, yeah technically he fell off a cliff but, we still won.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/po-the-dragon-warrior/wow-we-beat-him-i-mean-yeah-technically-he-fell-off-a-cliff-but-we/) [Po - The Dragon Warrior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/po-the-dragon-warrior/) > [I've now met, I would say, almost every single one of my rock idols. I feel like I should just drive off a cliff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-schafer/i-ve-now-met-i-would-say-almost-every-single-one-of-my-rock-idols-i/) [Tim Schafer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-schafer/) > [People with high levels of wellbeing have been careful to work out early in the morning and not to have heavy meals throughout the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rath/people-with-high-levels-of-wellbeing-have-been-careful-to-work-out/) [Tom Rath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rath/) > [Don't make me hang on to long I have the grip but this cliff is really steep but for you ill be like spiderman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mcglory/don-t-make-me-hang-on-to-long-i-have-the-grip-but-this-cliff-is/) [Greg Mcglory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mcglory/) > [“Feeling the Wind in Your Hair The peak of the cliff sits tantalizingly close. Your hands rest on your knees as you gasp, willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-kieran/feeling-the-wind-in-your-hair-the-peak-of-the-cliff-sits/) [Dan Kieran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-kieran/) > [I always likened retirement to falling off a cliff, and then you have to kind of brush yourself off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-young/i-always-likened-retirement-to-falling-off-a-cliff-and-then-you-have/) [Steve Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-young/) > [There is something about writing poetry that brings a man close to the cliff's edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-is-something-about-writing-poetry-that-brings-a-man-close-to/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Acting like it's a big deal because, hey, I don't who Cliff Bowyer is. -Si](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duck-dynasty/acting-like-it-s-a-big-deal-because-hey-i-don-t-who-cliff-bowyer-is-si/) [Duck Dynasty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duck-dynasty/) > [“Go to the edge of the cliff and jump off. Build your wings on the way down.--Ray Bradbury”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-k-thorne/go-to-the-edge-of-the-cliff-and-jump-off-build-your-wings-on-the-way/) [T.K. Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-k-thorne/) [Browse all 159 Cliff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cliff/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The heart sags. My footprints forget me. I don’t think anything will ever be the same. This is the edge of the cliff and you can’t move, can’t jump. Everything is vertical. With binoculars you can see where you’ll be in an hour. Raindrops collect on the lens. A fine mist. It hides us. It drifts into clocks. Gravity presses your hands. Some hurts never get said. 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