The Wind’s Prophecy
I TRAVEL on by barren farms,And gulls glint out like silver flecksAgainst a cloud that speaks of wrecks,And bellies down with black alarms.I say: “Thus from my lady’s armsI go; those arms I love the best!”The wind replies from dip and rise,“Nay; toward her arms thou journeyest.”
A distant verge morosely grayAppears, while clots of flying foamBreak from its muddy monochrome,And a light blinks up far away.I sigh: “My eyes now as all dayBehold her ebon loops of hair!”Like bursting bonds the wind responds,“Nay, wait for tresses flashing fair!”
From tides the lofty coastlands screenCome smitings like the slam of doors,Or hammerings on hollow floors,As the swell cleaves through caves unseen.Say I: “Though broad this wild terrene,Her city home is matched of none!”From the hoarse skies the wind replies:“Thou shouldst have said her sea-bord one.”
The all-prevailing clouds excludeThe one quick timorous transient star;The waves outside where breakers areHuzza like a mad multitude.“Where the sun ups it, mist-imbued,”I cry, “there reigns the star for me!”The wind outshrieks from points and peaks:“Here, westward, where it downs, mean ye!”
Yonder the headland, vulturine,Snores like old Skrymer in his sleep,And every chasm and every steepBlackens as wakes each pharos-shine.“I roam, but one is safely mine,”I say. “God grant she stay my own!”Low laughs the wind as if it grinned:“Thy Love is one thou’st not yet known.”Rewritten from an old copy.
Words in this poem
- glint n.
- A glimpse, glance, or gleam. [OE. glent.]
- morosely adv.
- Sourly; with sullen austerity.
- monochrome n.
- A painting or drawing in a single color; a picture made with a single color. [Gr. monochrome.]
- ebon a.
- Consisting of ebony.
- slam v. t.
- To shut with force and a loud noise; to bang; as, he slammed the door. [Of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. slamra, slambra, sl, Norw. slemba, slemma, dial. Sw. slämma.]
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
- terrene n.
- A tureen. Walpole.
- huzza interj.
- A word used as a shout of joy, exultation, approbation, or encouragement. [Cf. G. hussa, husa, interj., hurrah, huzza. sq. root43. Cf. Hurrah.]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- vulturine a.
- Of or pertaining to a vulture; resembling a vulture in qualities or looks; as, the vulturine sea eagle (Gypohierax Angolensis); vulturine rapacity. [L. vulturinus.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Wind’s Prophecy is in the public domain. This text is taken from Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #3255; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Hardy, The Wind’s Prophecy, in Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3255, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-moments-of-vision/the-wind-s-prophecy.html, id L24182.
Form and metre
The Wind’s Prophecy is 41 lines in 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABBAAC-C farmsA · flecksB · wrecksB · alarmsA · armsA · bestC · rise · journeyestC
- 2 ABBAAC-C grayA · foamB · monochromeB · awayA · dayA · hairC · responds · fairC
- 3 ABBA-C-C screenA · doorsB · floorsB · unseenA · terrene · noneC · replies · oneC
- 4 ABBAAC-C excludeA · starB · areB · multitudeA · imbuedA · meC · peaks · yeC
- 5 -AABBC-C- vulturine · sleepA · steepA · shineB · mineB · ownC · grinned · knownC · copy
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I TRAVEL on by barren farms, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And gulls glint out like silver flecks | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Against a cloud that speaks of wrecks, | 8 | ········ |
| And bellies down with black alarms. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| I say: “Thus from my lady’s arms | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I go; those arms I love the best!” | 8 | ········ |
| The wind replies from dip and rise, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| “Nay; toward her arms thou journeyest.” | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| A distant verge morosely gray | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Appears, while clots of flying foam | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Break from its muddy monochrome, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And a light blinks up far away. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| I sigh: “My eyes now as all day | 8 | ········ |
| Behold her ebon loops of hair!” | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| Like bursting bonds the wind responds, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| “Nay, wait for tresses flashing fair!” | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| From tides the lofty coastlands screen | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Come smitings like the slam of doors, | 8 | ········ |
| Or hammerings on hollow floors, | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| As the swell cleaves through caves unseen. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Say I: “Though broad this wild terrene, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Her city home is matched of none!” | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| From the hoarse skies the wind replies: | 8 | ······˘/ |
| “Thou shouldst have said her sea-bord one.” | 8 | ········ |
| The all-prevailing clouds exclude | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| The one quick timorous transient star; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The waves outside where breakers are | 8 | ··//·/˘· |
| Huzza like a mad multitude. | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| “Where the sun ups it, mist-imbued,” | 8 | ······˘/ |
| I cry, “there reigns the star for me!” | 8 | ········ |
| The wind outshrieks from points and peaks: | 8 | ········ |
| “Here, westward, where it downs, mean ye!” | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Yonder the headland, vulturine, | 8 | /˘·/˘/˘˘ |
| Snores like old Skrymer in his sleep, | 8 | ········ |
| And every chasm and every steep | 9 | ·/˘/˘·/˘· |
| Blackens as wakes each pharos-shine. | 8 | /˘···/·· |
| “I roam, but one is safely mine,” | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I say. “God grant she stay my own!” | 8 | ········ |
| Low laughs the wind as if it grinned: | 8 | ········ |
| “Thy Love is one thou’st not yet known.” | 8 | ········ |
| Rewritten from an old copy. | 8 | ˘/˘···/˘ |
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