--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Processions that lack high stilts have…" description: "\"Processions that lack high stilts have nothing that catches the eye. What if my great-granddad had a pair that were twenty foot high, And mine were but..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/425/william-butler-yeats-350_eye_processions-that-lack-high-stilts-have-n_1276839.png" --- # Processions that lack high stilts have nothing that… ![“Processions that lack high stilts have nothing that catches the eye. What if my great-granddad had a pair that were twenty foot high, And mine were but fifteen foot, no modern stalks upon higher, Some rogue of the world stole them to patch up a fence or a fire.” quote by William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/425/william-butler-yeats-350_eye_processions-that-lack-high-stilts-have-n_1276839.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/425/william-butler-yeats-350_eye_processions-that-lack-high-stilts-have-n_1276839.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/425/william-butler-yeats-350_eye_processions-that-lack-high-stilts-have-n_1276839.png) > “Processions that lack high stilts have nothing that catches the eye. What if my great-granddad had a pair that were twenty foot high, And mine were but fifteen foot, no modern stalks upon higher, Some rogue of the world stole them to patch up a fence or a fire.” [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poet laments the loss of towering, striking elements, suggesting that without them, the ordinary fails to captivate. **In simple terms:** Without standout features, things become unremarkable. Key Takeaway Seek or create distinctive, eye‑catching qualities. Themes art visibility loss Mood melancholic thoughtful Type literary reflective When to use this quote - public speaking - visual design - fashion - architecture Key Concepts aesthetics symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What “tall” elements make your work stand out? - How do you balance uniqueness with substance? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on novelty can lead to superficiality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Heritage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heritage/) [Patch up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patch-up/) [Procession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/procession/) [Rogues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rogues/) [Stalking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stalking/) [Stilts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stilts/) [Twenties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twenties/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“You at -all things considered- what you are. 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Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [With his nightcaps and the tatters of his dressing-gown he patches up the gaps in the structure of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-heine/with-his-nightcaps-and-the-tatters-of-his-dressing-gown-he-patches-up/) [Heinrich Heine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-heine/) > [“The smoke burns slightly down my throat and to my lungs. I focus on this, and empty my head, empty the images of Skye’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-witter/the-smoke-burns-slightly-down-my-throat-and-to-my-lungs-i-focus-on/) [Stephanie Witter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-witter/) > [A person taking stock in middle age is like an artist or composer looking at an unfinished work; but whereas the composer and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-broudy/a-person-taking-stock-in-middle-age-is-like-an-artist-or-composer/) Harry S. Broudy > [God does not patch up the old life, or make certain repairs on the old life; He gives a new life, through the new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-kuhlman/god-does-not-patch-up-the-old-life-or-make-certain-repairs-on-the-old/) [Kathryn Kuhlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-kuhlman/) > [“With you and me, I don't know what anything means. We're pushing each other away and yet I don't seem to be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-witter/with-you-and-me-i-don-t-know-what-anything-means-we-re-pushing-each/) [Stephanie Witter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-witter/) > [“It's not as if we're running a hospital for sick children down here, let's put it that way. Where's the nobility in patching up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-s-not-as-if-we-re-running-a-hospital-for-sick-children-down-here/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Those who have made unhappy marriages walk on stilts, while the happy ones are on a level with the crowd. No one sees 'em!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-mary-teresa-craigie/those-who-have-made-unhappy-marriages-walk-on-stilts-while-the-happy/) [Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-mary-teresa-craigie/) > [“stilts, the ground floors given over to parking. It’s a good idea in this car-maddened city,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/stilts-the-ground-floors-given-over-to-parking-it-s-a-good-idea-in/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) ## More by William Butler Yeats > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [I would have touched it like a child But knew my finger could but have touched Cold stone and water. I grew wild, Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-would-have-touched-it-like-a-child-but-knew-my-finger-could-but/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [You know what the Englishman's idea of compromise is? He says, Some people say there is a God. 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For these red lips, with all their mournful pride, Mournful that no new wonder may betide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/who-dreamed-that-beauty-passes-like-a-dream-for-these-red-lips-with/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) [Explore all 652 William Butler Yeats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) ## More Eye quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. 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They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) Browse all 16,237 Eye quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Processions that lack high stilts have nothing that catches the eye. 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