Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE FOUR WINDS, by MAXWELL STRUTHERS BURT


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE FOUR WINDS, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The four winds blow across the sky
Last Line: (love and life and death together!)
Alternate Author Name(s): Burt, Struthers
Subject(s): Rain; Sun; Wind


THE four winds blow across the sky:
(Wind and rain and sunny weather!)
The brave fine winds, how they hurry by:
(Mirth and sorrow and death together!)

Wind of the East, with your mystery,
(Shreds of rain and a fog-swept fell —)
You bring me news of the great grave sea,
And the cry of gulls and the sound of a bell.
Wind of the South, would you whisper by!
Dusk and rose and a rising moon;
Hark! And the haunting, echoing cry
Of a water bird on a white lagoon.

Wind of the North, blow, blow again!
Keen and splendid and steel and blue,
Lands of silence and men and pain,
Strong are the joys men find through you.
Wind of the West, ah, wind of the West!
Sunset mesa and far Cathay:
(Vanishing sail on the ocean's breast,
And the warm, sweet dust of a desert day.)
Only we who have known you best
Know the heart of the things you say.

The four winds blow across the sky:
(Wind and rain and sunny weather!)
The brave fine winds, how they hurry by!
(Love and life and death together!)





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net