I BLOW soft, ye winds, from out the South, Breathe low, as from the All-Mother's mouth, And whisper to this darksome heart Tidings She only can impart, Tidings which, at a Mother's knee, Hold both of heaven and earth the key— Dim shadowings of the vision'd truth Reveal'd in sweet, far days of Youth. Waft, waft, ye winds, come waft me o'er Rich incense from your vernal store— The hot scent of the odorous pine, The breezy gorse, like perfumed wine, That rambling over hill and dale With thankful heart I may inhale Spring's balmy fragrance. II Inconstant Dame! hast changed so soon The sunny garb of yesternoon? Shall moody frowns thy charms efface, Like wayward children out of grace? Or do thy dear inconstancies Expound some riddle of the skies?— That cloud and sunshine, wind and shower, Are gifts alike of equal dower, Forces obedient to His will Who spreads the feast of the daffodil. Then haste thy mandate to obey! Lead on thy legions to the fray!— The warring winds, the misted rain, The hail-storm driving o'er the plain, In cloudy dissonance! III Hark! thunder warns—the wakeful hare Now hasteneth to her grassy lair, While Heaven's high flood-gates, open'd wide, Pour forth the deluge tide on tide, And leaping fires of varied form Reveal the grandeur of the storm! Not now the feather'd tribe delight In lyric love, or whirring flight: 'Mid covert close of oak and ash, Their colour'd pennons cease to flash. While the bright sun's resplendent rays Are veil'd beneath a spectral haze. When, lo! a symbol from on high, A Rainbow throws across the sky Her peaceful radiance! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IMAGINARY ANCESTORS: THE GIRAFFE WOMAN OF BURMA by MADELINE DEFREES PLACE FOR A THIRD by ROBERT FROST A POEM FROM BOULDER RIDGE by JAMES GALVIN SAVORING THE PAST by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON DOWN BY THE CARIB SEA: 2. LOS CIGARILLOS by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON |