Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE THUNDER-STORM, by AMOS RUSSEL WELLS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE THUNDER-STORM, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I came with a roar from the western sky
Last Line: Till he beckons me forth again.
Subject(s): Storms


I came with a roar from the western sky
And over the western hill;
I shook the rocks as I thundered by,
And I bent the woods to my will.

I came at two of the village clock,
When the night was heavy with mirk;
I carried a torch in one of my hands,
And in one I carried a dirk.

I hid the torch in my folds of rain,
Till sudden I showed its glare;
I plunged the dirk in the thick of the woods
And splintered a pine-tree there.

I kindled a fire in the forest leaves,
And put it out with my rain;
I leaped with a howl from the western ridge
And rushed o'er the western plain.

I came at two of the village clock,
And raced through the empty street.
I slashed the boughs of the arching elms,
And the high church tower I beat.

I flung my rain through the shingled roofs
And into the window -- souse!
The nightgowned folk with their glimmering lamps
Hurried around the house.

The children snuggled in awesome beds,
And trembled to hear my shout;
And yet it was pleasant, so safe within,
So marvellous wild without.

Then away from the town I flung myself,
And into the eastern sea,
Where the big black waves rose up with a roar
And heavily welcomed me.

I came and I went at the beck of the Lord,
The Lord of storms and of men,
And I crouch in my cave at the end of the world
Till He beckons me forth again.





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