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Poems (Procter)/The Wind

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For works with similar titles, see The Wind.
4678572Poems — The WindAdelaide Anne Procter
THE WIND.
THE wind went forth o'er land and sea,
     Loud and free;
Foaming waves leapt up to meet it,
Stately pines bowed down to greet it;
   While the wailing sea
And the forest's murmured sigh
     Joined the cry
Of the wind that swept o'er land and sea.

The wind that blew upon the sea
     Fierce and free,
Cast the bark upon the shore,
Whence it sailed the night before
   Full of hope and glee;
And the cry of pain and death
     Was but a breath,
Through the wind that roared upon the sea.

The wind was whispering on the lea
     Tenderly;
But the white rose felt it pass,
And the fragile stalks of grass
   Shook with fear to see
All her trembling petals shed,
     As it fled
So gently by,—the wind upon the lea.

Blow, thou wind, upon the sea
     Fierce and free,
And a gentler message send,
     Where frail flowers and grasses bend,
On the sunny lea;
For thy bidding still is one,
   Be it done
In tenderness or wrath, on land or sea!