--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Stand here by my side and turn, I pray…" description: "\"Stand here by my side and turn, I pray, On the lake below thy gentle eyes; The clouds hang over it, heavy and gray, And dark and silent the water lies;..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/william-c-bryant-3570_clouds_stand-here-by-my-side-and-turn-i-pray-on_3166409.png" --- # Stand here by my side and turn, I pray, On the lake below… ![“Stand here by my side and turn, I pray, On the lake below thy gentle eyes; The clouds hang over it, heavy and gray, And dark and silent the water lies; And out of that frozen mist the snow In wavering flakes begins to flow; Flake after flake, They sink in the dark and silent lake.” quote by William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/william-c-bryant-3570_clouds_stand-here-by-my-side-and-turn-i-pray-on_3166409.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/william-c-bryant-3570_clouds_stand-here-by-my-side-and-turn-i-pray-on_3166409.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/william-c-bryant-3570_clouds_stand-here-by-my-side-and-turn-i-pray-on_3166409.png) > “Stand here by my side and turn, I pray, On the lake below thy gentle eyes; The clouds hang over it, heavy and gray, And dark and silent the water lies; And out of that frozen mist the snow In wavering flakes begins to flow; Flake after flake, They sink in the dark and silent lake.” [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A melancholy scene where nature mirrors inner stillness, suggesting that silence can be both beautiful and oppressive. **In simple terms:** Quiet nature reflects inner stillness. Key Takeaway Embrace silence but seek warmth. Themes nature melancholy reflection Mood somber contemplative Type poetic lyistic When to use this quote - grieving - meditation - creative writing Key Concepts solitude weather emotion Questions to Reflect On - How does silence affect your thoughts? - What warmth can you bring to a cold moment? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clouds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clouds/) [Clouds Hang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clouds-hang-1714186/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Flakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flakes/) [Flow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Frozen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frozen/) [Gentle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentle/) [Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gray/) [Hang over](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hang-over/) [Heavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heavy/) [I pray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-pray/) [Lakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lakes/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Mist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mist/) [Mist Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mist-snow-1951374/) [Over it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/over-it/) [Pray Lake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pray-lake-5745420/) [Praying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Silent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silent/) [Silent Lake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silent-lake-5745421/) [Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snow/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [Water Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water-lies-5745422/) [Wavering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wavering/) ## Related quotes > [“I was often tempted, when all was at peace around me, and I the only unquiet thing that wandered restless in a scene so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/i-was-often-tempted-when-all-was-at-peace-around-me-and-i-the-only/) [Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/) > [“And the mist of snow, as he had foreseen, was still on it - a ghost of snow falling in the bright sunlight, softly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/and-the-mist-of-snow-as-he-had-foreseen-was-still-on-it-a-ghost-of/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [“Because gray clouds hang heavy with misery, blue skies seem bluer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/because-gray-clouds-hang-heavy-with-misery-blue-skies-seem-bluer/) [Richelle E. 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There is no wretched Tantalus, fearing the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/assuredly-whatsoever-things-are-fabled-to-exist-in-deep-acheron-these/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [Death hangs over thee, While thou still live, while thou may, do good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/death-hangs-over-thee-while-thou-still-live-while-thou-may-do-good/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Poetry, for me, is the answer to, 'How does one stay sane when private lives are being ransacked by public events?' It's something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisel-mueller/poetry-for-me-is-the-answer-to-how-does-one-stay-sane-when-private/) [Lisel Mueller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisel-mueller/) > [I have actually programmed a fair bit in Perl, like I have C++ code published with my name on it. Other things I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-naggum/i-have-actually-programmed-a-fair-bit-in-perl-like-i-have-c-code/) [Erik Naggum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-naggum/) > [Enjoy your life. No curse hangs over you, nor did it ever. No devil chases after your soul. Sing and dance and be merry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/enjoy-your-life-no-curse-hangs-over-you-nor-did-it-ever-no-devil/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/do-not-act-as-if-you-were-going-to-live-ten-thousand-years-death/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“On a scale of one to bitchy, how hung-over are you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-carmack/on-a-scale-of-one-to-bitchy-how-hung-over-are-you/) [Cora Carmack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-carmack/) ## More by William C. Bryant > [The gentle race of flowers Are lying in their lowly beds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/the-gentle-race-of-flowers-are-lying-in-their-lowly-beds/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [The victory of endurance born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/the-victory-of-endurance-born/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [Features, the great soul's apparent seat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/features-the-great-soul-s-apparent-seat/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [The February sunshine steeps your boughs and tints the buds and swells the leaves within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/the-february-sunshine-steeps-your-boughs-and-tints-the-buds-and/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [Lo! while we are gazing, in swifter haste Stream down the snows, till the air is white, As, myriads by myriads madly chased, They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/lo-while-we-are-gazing-in-swifter-haste-stream-down-the-snows-till/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [Sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/sustained-and-soothed-by-an-unfaltering-trust-approach-thy-grave-like/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [But Winter has yet brighter scenes-he boasts Splendors beyond what gorgeous Summer knows; Or Autumn with his many fruits, and woods All flushed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/but-winter-has-yet-brighter-scenes-he-boasts-splendors-beyond-what/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [There is a Power whose care Teaches thy way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/there-is-a-power-whose-care-teaches-thy-way/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [Truth crushed to earth shall rise again,- The eternal years of God are hers; But Error, wounded, writhes with pain, And dies among his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/truth-crushed-to-earth-shall-rise-again-the-eternal-years-of-god-are/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [And the blue gentian-flower, that, in the breeze, Nods lonely, of her beauteous race the last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/and-the-blue-gentian-flower-that-in-the-breeze-nods-lonely-of-her/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [A silence, the brief Sabbath of an hour, Reigns o'er the fields; the laborer sits within His dwelling; he has left his steers awhile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/a-silence-the-brief-sabbath-of-an-hour-reigns-o-er-the-fields-the/) [William C. 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Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [God hath yoked to guilt her pale tormentor,--misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/god-hath-yoked-to-guilt-her-pale-tormentor-misery/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) [Explore all 127 William C. Bryant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) ## More Clouds quotes > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [It lies around us like a cloud- A world we do not see; Yet the sweet closing of an eye May bring us there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/it-lies-around-us-like-a-cloud-a-world-we-do-not-see-yet-the-sweet/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. 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