There is not wind enough to twirl The one red leaf, the last of its clan, That dances as often as dance it can, Hanging so light, and hanging so high, On the topmost twig that looks up at the sky.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- A single red leaf hangs high in the air with little wind to move it.
- In plain terms
- One last leaf hangs alone in the sky.
- What can you take from it?
- Solitude and resilience are shown in small natural details.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When do you feel like the last leaf?
- What keeps you holding on?
Another view
The metaphor is subtle and may be missed by casual readers.
More from Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Sir Leoline, the Baron rich, Hath a toothless mastiff bitch.
Permalink to quote #85 Her gentle limbs did she undress, And lay down in her loveliness.
Permalink to quote #87 A damsel with a dulcimer In a vision once I saw: It was an Abyssinian maid, And on her dulcimer she played, Singing of Mount Abora. Could I revive within me He…
Permalink to quote #84
Related quotes
One only leaf upon the top of a tree - the sole remaining leaf - danced round and round like a rag blown by the wind.
Dorothy WordsworthDorothy Wordsworth quote #2 Autumn is a second Spring when every leaf is a flower.
Albert CamusAlbert Camus quote #12 'It was ideal apple-eating weather; the whitest sunlight descended from the purest sky, and an easterly wind rustled, without ripping loose, the last of the le…
Truman CapoteTruman Capote quote #19