Poems (Charlotte Allen)/The Storm Spirit

by Charlotte Allen

THE STORM SPIRIT.

The storm spirit rose on the midnight air,
 From his slumber long and deep,
And fluttered his pinions here and there,
While his fearful brow did darkness wear,
 As he took at nature a peep.

"Too long," said he, "have the elements slept;
 Their chains—'t is for me to break them;
And since in that art I'm called an adept,
My trust, I hope, I have faithfully kept,
 So now I'll try to awake them."

He breathed a loud blast, and the clouds upreared
 Their heads in a hideous heap;
The greatest confusion quickly appeared,
While a frightful noise around was heard,
 In taking his onward leap.

The thunder pealed forth with its awful sound,
 While lightning flashed from on high;
And far over hills and the vales around,
The hail and rain together did bound,
 And blackness marked the sky.

Wherever his breath passed over the land,
 In its reckless raging speed,
The mightiest trees could scarcely withstand
The devastation of the unseen hand,
 That urged the ruinous deed.

Then over the ocean he quickly passed,
 Where the vessels in safety lay,
And tossed them about, and shivered each mast,
Rending the sails that were firm and fast,
 As he sped on his rapid way.

And many a ship with shrouds so fair,
 With many a noble soul,
In all their pride have now perished there,
While the waves in their ceaseless course doth bear
 The wrecks, as they onward roll.

Then the Storm Spirit paused, and cast a look
 O'er the ruins his power had made,
And the desolate scene he quickly forsook,
While far in the distance his way he took,
 As his furious arm was stayed.