The Call of the Winds
Ho, come out with the wind of spring,And step it blithely in woodlands waking;Friend am I of each growing thingFrom the gray sod into sunshine breaking;Mine is the magic of twilights dim,Of violets blue on the still pool's rim,Mine is the breath of the blossoms youngSweetest of fragrances storied or sung—Come, ye earth-children, weary and worn,I will lead you over the hills of morn.
Ho, come out with the summer wind,And loiter in meadows of ripening clover,Where the purple noons are long and kind,And the great white clouds drift fleecily over.Mine is immortal minstrelsy,The fellowship of the rose and bee,Beguiling laughter of willowed rills,The rejoicing of pines on inland hills,Come, ye earth-children, by dale and stream,I will lead you into the ways of dream.
Ho, when the wind of autumn ringsThrough jubilant mornings crisp and golden,Come where the yellow woodland flingsIts hoarded wealth over by-ways olden.Mine are the grasses frosted and sere,That lisp and rustle around the mere,Mine are the flying racks that dimThe lingering sunset's reddening rim,Earth-children, come, in the waning year,I will harp you to laughter and buoyant cheer.
Ho, when the wind of winter blowsOver the uplands and moonlit spaces,Come ye out to the waste of snows,To the glimmering fields and the silent places.I whistle gaily on starry nightsThrough the arch of the elfin northern lights,But in long white valleys I pause to harkWhere the ring of the home-lights gems the dark.Come, ye earth-children, whose hearts are sad,I will make you valiant and strong and glad!
Words in this poem 20
- blithely adv.
- In a blithe manner.
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- storied a.
- Told in a story. [From Story.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- minstrelsy n.
- The arts and occupation of minstrels; the singing and playing of a minstrel.
- beguiling a.
- Alluring by guile; deluding; misleading; diverting.
- willowed a.
- Abounding with willows; containing willows; covered or overgrown with willows.
- jubilant a.
- Uttering songs of triumph; shouting with joy; triumphant; exulting. [L. jubilans, -antis, p. pr. of jubilare to shout for joy: cf. F. jubila. See Jubilate.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- olden a.
- Old; ancient; as, the olden time.
- frosted a.
- Covered with hoarfrost or anything resembling hoarfrost; ornamented with frosting; also, frost-bitten; as, a frosted cake; frosted glass.
- sere n.
- Claw; talon. Chapman. [F. serre.]
- lisp v. i.
- To pronounce the sibilant letter s imperfectly; to give s and z the sound of th; -- a defect common among children. [OE. lispen, lipsen, AS. wlisp stammering, lisping; akin to D. & OHG. lispen to lisp, G. lispeln, Sw. läspa, Dan. lespe.]
- rustle v. i.
- To make a quick succession of small sounds, like the rubbing or moving of silk cloth or dry leaves. [AS. hristlan to rustle; or cf. Sw. rusta to stir, make a riot, or E. rush, v.]
- waning n.
- The act or process of waning, or decreasing.
- moonlit a.
- Illumined by the moon.
- gaily adv.
- Merrily; showily. See gaily. [From Gay.]
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- elfin a.
- Relating to elves.
- valiant a.
- Vigorous in body; strong; powerful; as, a valiant fencer. [OE. valiant, F. vaillant, OF. vaillant, valant, originally p. pr. of OF. & F. valoir to be worth, L. valere to be strong. See Wield, and cf. Avail, Convalesce, ]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Call of the Winds is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Watchman and Other Poems (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1917; Toronto: McClelland, Goodchild and Stewart, 1916), Internet Archive; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: L. M. Montgomery, The Call of the Winds, in The Watchman and Other Poems (1916), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/montgomery-watchman/the-call-of-the-winds.html, id L29405.
Form and metre
The Call of the Winds is 40 lines in 4 stanzas of 10 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCDDEE, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 75%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABABCCDDEE springA · wakingB · thingA · breakingB · dimC · rimC · youngD · sungD · wornE · mornE
- 2 ABAB--CCDD windA · cloverB · kindA · overB · minstrelsy · bee · rillsC · hillsC · streamD · dreamD
- 3 ABABCCDDCC ringsA · goldenB · flingsA · oldenB · sereC · mereC · dimD · rimD · yearC · cheerC
- 4 ABABCCDDEE blowsA · spacesB · snowsA · placesB · nightsC · lightsC · harkD · darkD · sadE · gladE
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Ho, come out with the wind of spring, | 8 | ········ |
| And step it blithely in woodlands waking; | 10 | ···/˘·/˘/˘ |
| Friend am I of each growing thing | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| From the gray sod into sunshine breaking; | 10 | ······/·/˘ |
| Mine is the magic of twilights dim, | 9 | ···/˘·/·· |
| Of violets blue on the still pool's rim, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Mine is the breath of the blossoms young | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Sweetest of fragrances storied or sung— | 9 | /˘·/˘/˘·· |
| Come, ye earth-children, weary and worn, | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| I will lead you over the hills of morn. | 9 | ········· |
| Ho, come out with the summer wind, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And loiter in meadows of ripening clover, | 11 | ·/˘·/··/˘/˘ |
| Where the purple noons are long and kind, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| And the great white clouds drift fleecily over. | 10 | ·········· |
| Mine is immortal minstrelsy, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘˘ |
| The fellowship of the rose and bee, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Beguiling laughter of willowed rills, | 9 | ˘/˘/˘·/·· |
| The rejoicing of pines on inland hills, | 10 | ·˘/˘···/·· |
| Come, ye earth-children, by dale and stream, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| I will lead you into the ways of dream. | 10 | ·········· |
| Ho, when the wind of autumn rings | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Through jubilant mornings crisp and golden, | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Come where the yellow woodland flings | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| Its hoarded wealth over by-ways olden. | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Mine are the grasses frosted and sere, | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| That lisp and rustle around the mere, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Mine are the flying racks that dim | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The lingering sunset's reddening rim, | 8 | ·/˘/·/˘· |
| Earth-children, come, in the waning year, | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| I will harp you to laughter and buoyant cheer. | 11 | ·····/˘·/˘· |
| Ho, when the wind of winter blows | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Over the uplands and moonlit spaces, | 9 | ··/˘·/·/˘ |
| Come ye out to the waste of snows, | 8 | ········ |
| To the glimmering fields and the silent places. | 11 | ··/˘···/˘/˘ |
| I whistle gaily on starry nights | 9 | ·/˘/˘·/˘· |
| Through the arch of the elfin northern lights, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| But in long white valleys I pause to hark | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Where the ring of the home-lights gems the dark. | 10 | ·········· |
| Come, ye earth-children, whose hearts are sad, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| I will make you valiant and strong and glad! | 10 | ····/˘···· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.