The South-wind brings Life, sunshine, and desire, And on every mount…

The South-wind brings Life, sunshine, and desire, And on every mount and meadow Breathes aromatic fire; But over the dead he has no power, The lost, the lost, he cannot restore; And, looking over the hills, I mourn The darling who shall not return.

Ralph Waldo Emerson1803–1882 · writer · 1800s USARalph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist and poet who encouraged people to trust their own minds and think for themselves.207 quotes

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What turned up: Threnody, opening eight lines; Poems (1847); Full public-domain elegy read in documented1847 edition transcription. Complete opening sentence contrasts returning spring with the irreversible loss of the speaker’s child; later spiritual consolation does not erase this initial grief.
Work: Threnody, opening eight lines; Poems (1847)
Sources checked: en.wikisource.orgChecked using manual, 20 October 2026Threnody, opening eight lines; Poems (1847); Full public-domain elegy read in documented1847 edition transcription. Complete opening sentence contrasts returning spring with the irreversible loss of the speaker’s child; later spiritual consolation does not erase this initial grief.