THE WIND ATTACKS THE CHIMNEY STACKS


The wind attacks the chimney stacks,
    The fire burns bright, defies the night;

The china rattles in the racks,

    The draught shrieks battle through the cracks;

The night can’t fight a wind in flight.

    The gutters sing, the downspouts ring;

The fire’s ablaze and draws the gaze;

    The cat purrs loud and stretches, proud.

The candle on the mantle gutters;

    The flame, for just a moment, stutters.

The wild wind wanes. Beyond the panes

    The branches heave with dripping leaves;

The moon decrees that through the trees

    The skies shall sigh a silent breeze;

The bats weave, black, beneath the eaves.

    The mouse peers out, with fears and doubt:

The owl is poised. Without a noise

    The owl’s in flight, its prey in sight;

The hunter wheels, the victim squeals;

    The moment’s passed: the death was fast.

The dawn comes slow; the sun burns low,

    The swirling waters fleck and flow.

The daylight’s weak, the morning bleak,

    The swollen river’s banks are sodden,

The cattle sullen, their fields untrodden.

    The day grows bright; the sun gains height –

The hawthorn’s stippled with its light;

    The fields are shared by horses, mares,

The foals and pheasants, hawks and hares;

    The hedgerows ripple as birds take flight.

The crickets strum their noonday drum;

    The heat-haze shimmers; swimmers greet

The cool stream’s glimmer. See – upstream

    The heron dives for the sweetest meat:

The great bird strives; but the trout survives.

    The dragonfly drones slowly by;

The foxglove lures the butterfly.

    The lark soars high; song fills the sky.

The bees store nectar for their hives;

    The otter surfaces and dives.

The evening air begins to cool.

   The willows shroud a quiet pool -

The angler knows each hidden ledge.

    The cattle crowd at water’s edge;

The twisting mist drifts through the sedge.

    The sun seeks rest in the crimson west;

The twilight falls; the nightjar calls;

    The moon’s aloft; the stars shine, soft.

The night brings forth a new-born day

    And Earth rolls slowly on its way.