Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE WIND, by GEORGE LUNT



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE WIND, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The wind has voices, that defy
Last Line: A sad, sweet language, all its own.
Subject(s): Wind


THE Wind has voices, that defy
The spirit's utmost scrutiny;
We shudder at its sobbing wail,
And shrink, when howls the rolling gale,
And even its softest breath is heard,
Like some half-muttered saddening word;
Of all its tones, there is no voice
That bids the thrilling heart rejoice.

The sailor, on the silent seas,
May long to hail the freshening breeze;
The blast, that hurls the spattered foam,
Will waft him to his distant home;
Yet while the loosening sail he flings,
That gives his floating bird its wings,
His manly breast will often feel
Some strange, dread fancy o'er it steal.

When crouched beside the wintry blaze,
And midnight sings its wonted lays,
The music of the mingling tune,
Now rising high and falling soon,—
The wailing and complaining tone
Might be a laugh, though more a moan,—
But wild, or sad, or high, or low,
It ever takes a note of woe.

I've seen it stir the nested rills
Amid the topmost Crystal Hills,
Have watched it drive the clashing clouds,
And shriek along the shaken shrouds,—
Dread! strange! the same, in every hour,
Resistless, formless, unseen power!
A voice, that gives us no reply,
A sound that shakes, we know not why.

I never hear it on the shore,
Concerted with the watery roar,
Or sweeping, where the sullen breeze,
Glides, like a spirit, through the trees,
Nor listen to its mustering wail,
When wintry tempests swell the gale,
But haunting fancies, dark and wild,
Brood like the dreams, that daunt a child.

Yet not the less, my battling soul
Springs, like a racer, to its goal;
Can wring a joy, that else were pain,
When singing blasts cry o'er the main,
Hear music, in the mournful tune,
That softens on the gales of June,
And gather, from the fire-side tone,
A sad, sweet language, all its own.





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