Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, WILD WEATHER OUTSIDE, by MARGARET ELIZABETH MUNSON SANGSTER


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

WILD WEATHER OUTSIDE, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Wild weather outside where the brave ships go
Last Line: Where the sweet wife smiles in the cottage door.
Alternate Author Name(s): Van Deth, Gerrit, Mrs.
Subject(s): Prayer; Sailing & Sailors; Sea Voyages; Ships & Shipping; Storms


WILD weather outside where the brave ships go,
And fierce from all quarters the four winds blow—
Wild weather and cold, and the great waves swell,
With chasms beneath them as black as hell.
The waters frolic in Titan play,
They dash the decks with an icy spray,
The spent sails shiver, the lithe masts reel,
And the sheeted ropes are as smooth as steel.
And oh, that the sailor were safe once more
Where the sweet wife smiles in the cottage door!

The little cottage, it shines afar,
O'er the lurid seas, like the polar star.
The mariner tossed in the jaws of death
Hurls at the storm a defiant breath;
Shouts to his mates through the writhing foam,
"Courage! Courage please God, we shall yet win home!"
Frozen and haggard and wan and gray,
But resolute still,—'t is the sailor's way;
And perhaps—at the fancy the stern eyes dim—
Somebody's praying to-night for him.

Ah me, through the drench of the bitter rain,
How bright the picture that rises plain!
Sure he can see, with her merry look,
His little maid crooning her spelling-book;
The baby crows from the cradle fair;
The grandam nods in her easy-chair:
While hither and yon, with a quiet grace,
A woman flits, with an earnest face.
The kitten purrs and the kettle sings,
And a nameless comfort the picture brings.

Rough weather outside, but the winds of balm
Forever float o'er that isle of calm.
O friends who read, over tea and toast,
Of the wild night's work on the storm-swept coast,—
Think, when the vessels are overdue,
Of the perilous voyage, the baffled crew,
Of stout hearts battling for love and home
'Mid the cruel blasts and the curdling foam,
And breathe a prayer, from your happy lips,
For those who must go "to the sea in ships;"
Ask that the sailor may stand once more
Where the sweet wife smiles in the cottage door.





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