Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, I WONDER AT THE WIND, by ISABEL ECCLESTONE MACKAY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

I WONDER AT THE WIND, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I wonder at the wind-he lifts
Last Line: A bouquet for a friend!
Subject(s): Children; Friendship; Childhood


I WONDER at the Wind—he lifts
My kite so high and free,
Then tears its string from out my hand
To tangle in a tree!

Does he like people, do you think?
I never seem to know
Whether he wants to be a friend
Or tries to be a foe.

He fans my bonfire on the beach
'Till red flames leap and shout—
But every single chance he gets
He blows my candle out.

He'll give most any bird a ride,
To rest its tired wing,
Then turn and tumble down its nest
And laugh like anything!

Sometimes he seems so kind—when I
Was late for school to-day,
He blew me to the very door—
Then snatched my cap away!

I see him fill the idle sail
And guide it with his hand—
But what of all those ships that lie
In driftwood on the sand?

He has quite diff'rent voices, too—
A whisp'ry, singing sound
And then a scolding roar that makes
The trees shake in the ground.

My mother says, "It's just the wind,
Son, close the windows tight"—
I wonder if he's lonely when
We shut him out at night?

Yet, when I left the door ajar
At supper —just in case—
He rushed right down the garden path
And slammed it in my face.

Of course that may have been just fun,
Because when I was ill
He came so quietly and cool
Across the window-sill,

And all the room was lovely with
The scent that lilacs send—
'Twas just as if he'd called to leave
A bouquet for a friend!





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