--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Yesterday's rain had left a bitter…" description: "\"“Yesterday's rain had left a bitter, springlike smell in the air; the vehemence that beat against her in the street and hummed above her had something ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ceb/willa-cather-634_flowers_yesterday-s-rain-had-left-a-bitter-sprin_1911787.png" --- # Yesterday's rain had left a bitter, springlike smell in… ![“Yesterday's rain had left a bitter, springlike smell in the air; the vehemence that beat against her in the street and hummed above her had something a little wistful in it tonight, like a plaintive hand-organ tune. All the lovely things in the shop windows, the furs and jewels, roses and orchids…” quote by Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ceb/willa-cather-634_flowers_yesterday-s-rain-had-left-a-bitter-sprin_1911787.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ceb/willa-cather-634_flowers_yesterday-s-rain-had-left-a-bitter-sprin_1911787.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ceb/willa-cather-634_flowers_yesterday-s-rain-had-left-a-bitter-sprin_1911787.png) > ““Yesterday's rain had left a bitter, springlike smell in the air; the vehemence that beat against her in the street and hummed above her had something a little wistful in it tonight, like a plaintive hand-organ tune. All the lovely things in the shop windows, the furs and jewels, roses and orchids, seemed to belong to her as she passed them. Not to have wrapped up and sent home, certainly; where would she put them? But they were hers to live among.”” [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She feels a bittersweet, nostalgic longing amid a sensory-rich cityscape. **In simple terms:** She experiences wistful longing in the city. Key Takeaway Embrace fleeting moments and sensory awareness. Themes nostalgia urban life sensory perception longing Mood reflective poetic Type literary emotional When to use this quote - walking tours - creative writing - artistic observation - mindful walking Key Concepts literary imagery emotional depth urban narrative Questions to Reflect On - What sensory details trigger your memories? - How does longing shape your choices? A Different Perspective Melancholy can hinder present enjoyment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flowers/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain/) ## Related quotes > [There's no dew left on the daisies and clover; there's no rain left in heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ingelow/there-s-no-dew-left-on-the-daisies-and-clover-there-s-no-rain-left-in/) [Jean Ingelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ingelow/) > [Rain rain go away , come again another day i sung this poem yesterday that's y rain come today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/rain-rain-go-away-come-again-another-day-i-sung-this-poem-yesterday/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [“if the rain you left behind for me to deal with taught me anything in this life, it would be that after every shower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-cao/if-the-rain-you-left-behind-for-me-to-deal-with-taught-me-anything-in/) Hannah Cao > [“yesterday the rain tried to imitate my hands by running down your body i ripped the sky apart for allowing it -jealousy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/yesterday-the-rain-tried-to-imitate-my-hands-by-running-down-your/) [Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/) > [There was the blue sky above her and all those many roses, the ones that gave off the scent of cloves in the rain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/there-was-the-blue-sky-above-her-and-all-those-many-roses-the-ones/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [Rain scatters plum petals; Weeping stains the earth. One can only take shelter And wait for clearing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/rain-scatters-plum-petals-weeping-stains-the-earth-one-can-only-take/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) > [Observe this dew-drenched rose of Tyrian gardens A rose today. But you will ask in vain Tomorrow what it is; and yesterday It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-rossetti/observe-this-dew-drenched-rose-of-tyrian-gardens-a-rose-today-but-you/) [Christina Rossetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-rossetti/) > [Such a morning it is when love leans through geranium windows and calls with a cockerel's tongue. When red-haired girls scamper like roses over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-lee/such-a-morning-it-is-when-love-leans-through-geranium-windows-and/) [Laurie Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-lee/) > [“I start to run, and my nose fills with the smell of rain and wet earth. I run along the shoulder of the highway…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-harrison/i-start-to-run-and-my-nose-fills-with-the-smell-of-rain-and-wet-earth/) Jon Harrison > [The holy heaven yearns to wound the earth, and yearning layeth hold on the earth to join in wedlock; the rain, fallen from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-holy-heaven-yearns-to-wound-the-earth-and-yearning-layeth-hold-on/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [ Gonna rain like a cow pissin' on a flat rock" \[drugstore clerk to detective Virgil Flowers\] Dark of the Moon, p.7 ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sandford/gonna-rain-like-a-cow-pissin-on-a-flat-rock-drugstore-clerk-to/) [John Sandford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sandford/) > [I do whatever entertains me. If it entertains me to throw flowers halfway across the room, then that's what I'll do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-owens/i-do-whatever-entertains-me-if-it-entertains-me-to-throw-flowers/) [Kevin Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-owens/) > [“Most girls get flowers or candy. I get a declaration of martial law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-shearin/most-girls-get-flowers-or-candy-i-get-a-declaration-of-martial-law/) [Lisa Shearin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-shearin/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“On the third day, she smelled the fruit as soon as she came in. She followed the scent to the kitchen, and the peach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/on-the-third-day-she-smelled-the-fruit-as-soon-as-she-came-in-she/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) ## More by Willa Cather > [The end is nothing; the road is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-end-is-nothing-the-road-is-all/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Success is less interesting than struggle. There is great pleasure in the effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/success-is-less-interesting-than-struggle-there-is-great-pleasure-in/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“I only knew the schoolbooks said he "died in the wilderness, of a broken heart." "More than him has done that," said Antonia sadly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/i-only-knew-the-schoolbooks-said-he-died-in-the-wilderness-of-a/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Have the last word ma'm," he said cheerfully. "It's a lady's privilege.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/have-the-last-word-ma-m-he-said-cheerfully-it-s-a-lady-s-privilege/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > ["More than him has done that," said Antonia sadly, and the girls murmured assent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/more-than-him-has-done-that-said-antonia-sadly-and-the-girls-murmured/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Nothing mattered ... but writing books, and living the kind of life that made it possible to write them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/nothing-mattered-but-writing-books-and-living-the-kind-of-life-that/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Money and office and success are the consolations of impotence. Fortune turns kind to such solid people and lets them suck their bone in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/money-and-office-and-success-are-the-consolations-of-impotence/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [But she still had that something which fires the imagination, could still stop one's breath for a moment by a look or gesture that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/but-she-still-had-that-something-which-fires-the-imagination-could/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“You remember how homesick I used to get, and what long talks we used to have coming from school? We've someway always felt alike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/you-remember-how-homesick-i-used-to-get-and-what-long-talks-we-used/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“He placed this book in my grandmother's hands, looked at her entreatingly, and said, with an earnestness which I shall never forget, "Te-e-ach, te-e-ach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/he-placed-this-book-in-my-grandmother-s-hands-looked-at-her/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [The sincerity of feeling that is possible between a writer and a reader is one of the finest things I know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-sincerity-of-feeling-that-is-possible-between-a-writer-and-a/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [One realizes that human relationships are the tragic necessity of human life; that they can never be wholly satisfactory, that every ego is half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/one-realizes-that-human-relationships-are-the-tragic-necessity-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Our tree became the talking tree of the fairy tale; legends and stories nestled like birds in its branches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/our-tree-became-the-talking-tree-of-the-fairy-tale-legends-and/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Isn’t it queer: there are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/isn-t-it-queer-there-are-only-two-or-three-human-stories-and-they-go/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) [Explore all 434 Willa Cather quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) ## More Flowers quotes > [“On the third day, she smelled the fruit as soon as she came in. She followed the scent to the kitchen, and the peach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/on-the-third-day-she-smelled-the-fruit-as-soon-as-she-came-in-she/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Most girls get flowers or candy. I get a declaration of martial law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-shearin/most-girls-get-flowers-or-candy-i-get-a-declaration-of-martial-law/) [Lisa Shearin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-shearin/) > [I do whatever entertains me. If it entertains me to throw flowers halfway across the room, then that's what I'll do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-owens/i-do-whatever-entertains-me-if-it-entertains-me-to-throw-flowers/) [Kevin Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-owens/) > [ROSES ARE RED VIOLETS ARE BLUE YOU DID ME WRONG SO GUESS WAT BABE??FUKK YU](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica/roses-are-red-violets-are-blue-you-did-me-wrong-so-guess-wat-babe/) JESSICA > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-o-connell/my-days-the-blossom-of-my-youth-and-the-flower-of-my-manhood-have/) [Daniel O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-o-connell/) > [Kiss From A Rose There used to be a graying tower alone on the sea. You became the light on the dark side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seal/kiss-from-a-rose-there-used-to-be-a-graying-tower-alone-on-the-sea/) [Seal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seal/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [“Rose is like a woman love;when love odorous but gets offended when bony..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonnaville/rose-is-like-a-woman-love-when-love-odorous-but-gets-offended-when/) Jonnaville > [“They basked in the sweet-scented breeze, and felt the sunshine warming their bare heads. Petals drifted from the gnarled apple and cherry trees, creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-wiggs/they-basked-in-the-sweet-scented-breeze-and-felt-the-sunshine-warming/) [Susan Wiggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-wiggs/) > [Now that the lilacs are in bloom She has a bowl of lilacs in her room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-that-the-lilacs-are-in-bloom-she-has-a-bowl-of-lilacs-in-her-room/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The sun, a red wheel, was sinking slowly in the west. Besides being spectacularly beautiful, the early-summer sunset was exceedingly soft and gentle: black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/the-sun-a-red-wheel-was-sinking-slowly-in-the-west-besides-being/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [“She stroked one of the geranium's petals, inhaling its particular bitter fragrance, which she admired for its bold air of unapology.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-airgood/she-stroked-one-of-the-geranium-s-petals-inhaling-its-particular/) [Ellen Airgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-airgood/) > [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. 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