The Wind Blew Shrill And Smart

Robert Louis Stevenson 1850 (Edinburgh) – 1894 (Vailima, Samoa)



THE wind blew shrill and smart,
And the wind awoke my heart
Again to go a-sailing o'er the sea,
To hear the cordage moan
And the straining timbers groan,
And to see the flying pennon lie a-lee.

O sailor of the fleet,
It is time to stir the feet!
It's time to man the dingy and to row!
It's lay your hand in mine
And it's empty down the wine,
And it's drain a health to death before we go!

To death, my lads, we sail;
And it's death that blows the gale
And death that holds the tiller as we ride.
For he's the king of all
In the tempest and the squall,
And the ruler of the Ocean wild and wide!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

39 sec read
123

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABCCB DDEFFE GGHIIH
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 584
Words 125
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. more…

All Robert Louis Stevenson poems | Robert Louis Stevenson Books

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