The Wind Among the Reeds: watercolour book cover

A collection of poems

The Wind Among the Reeds

189937 poems

Elkin Mathews, London, April 1899; John Lane, New York, 1899.

  1. 1The Hosting of the SidheThe host is riding from KnocknareaThe faery host rides out, calling mortals to abandon their dreams.
  2. 2The Everlasting VoicesO sweet everlasting Voices, be still;A plea to the eternal voices to leave tired hearts alone.
  3. 3The MoodsTime drops in decay,Everything decays except the fire-born moods.
  4. 4The Lover tells of the Rose in his HeartAll things uncomely and broken, all things worn out and old,A lover longs to remake the ugly world for his beloved.
  5. 5The Host of the AirO'Driscoll drove with a songA young man is lured into a game while faeries steal his bride.
  6. 6The FishAlthough you hide in the ebb and flowA fisherman warns the fish that escapes him how history will judge it.
  7. 7The Unappeasable HostThe Danaan children laugh, in cradles of wrought gold,A mother fears the faery host that calls her child away.
  8. 8Into the TwilightOut-worn heart, in a time out-worn,A weary heart is urged to find comfort in Ireland's twilight and hills.
  9. 9The Song of Wandering AengusI went out to the hazel wood,A man glimpses a magical girl once and searches for her all his life.
  10. 10The Song of the Old MotherI rise in the dawn, and I kneel and blowAn old woman works from dawn to dark while the young dream idly.
  11. 11The Heart of the WomanO what to me the little roomA woman leaves her safe home and her prayers for a lover.
  12. 12The Lover mourns for the Loss of LovePale brows, still hands and dim hair,A new love ends when she sees another woman in his heart.
  13. 13He mourns for the Change that has come upon Him and his Beloved, and longs for the End of the WorldDo you not hear me calling, white deer with no horns!A lover turned into a hound longs for the world to end.
  14. 14He bids his Beloved be at PeaceI hear the Shadowy Horses, their long manes a-shake,A lover asks his beloved to hide a vision of coming disaster.
  15. 15He reproves the CurlewO curlew, cry no more in the air,A curlew's cry reminds a lover of the woman he has lost.
  16. 16He remembers forgotten BeautyWhen my arms wrap you round I pressEmbracing his beloved, a lover touches all the lost beauty of the past.
  17. 17A Poet to his BelovedI bring you with reverent handsA poet offers his dreams and verses to a woman worn by passion.
  18. 18He gives his Beloved certain RhymesFasten your hair with a golden pin,A poet offers his rhymes, then admits her beauty needs none.
  19. 19To his Heart, bidding it have no FearBe you still, be you still, trembling heart;The poet tells his trembling heart to let fear go.
  20. 20The Cap and BellsThe jester walked in the garden:A jester wins a young queen's love by giving her his cap and bells.
  21. 21The Valley of the Black PigThe dews drop slowly and dreams gather: unknown spearsA vision of a final battle, and a prayer from those weary of empire.
  22. 22The Lover asks Forgiveness because of his Many MoodsIf this importunate heart trouble your peaceA changeable lover asks his beloved to forgive his restless heart.
  23. 23He tells of a Valley full of LoversI dreamed that I stood in a valley, and amid sighs,In a dream, a lost love's beauty spoils every other face.
  24. 24He tells of the Perfect BeautyO cloud-pale eyelids, dream-dimmed eyes,A woman's gaze outdoes all the poets' efforts to create beauty.
  25. 25He hears the Cry of the SedgeI wander by the edgeA lonely lover learns his love must wait for the end of the world.
  26. 26He thinks of those who have Spoken Evil of his BelovedHalf close your eyelids, loosen your hair,A lover tells a slandered woman that his song will outlast her enemies.
  27. 27The BlessedCumhal called out, bending his head,A seeker asks a holy man who is the most blessed soul of all.
  28. 28The Secret RoseFar off, most secret, and inviolate Rose,The poet prays to the mystic Rose and waits for the world's end.
  29. 29Maid QuietWhere has Maid Quiet gone to,When Maid Quiet leaves him, a storm rushes into the speaker's blood.
  30. 30The Travail of PassionWhen the flaming lute-thronged angelic door is wide;The suffering of love is pictured through Christ's Passion, then comforted.
  31. 31The Lover pleads with his Friend for Old FriendsThough you are in your shining days,A lover asks an admired woman not to forget her old friends.
  32. 32The Lover speaks to the Hearers of his Songs in Coming DaysO women, kneeling by your altar rails long hence,A dead poet asks future women to pray for his sinful love songs.
  33. 33The Poet pleads with the Elemental PowersThe Powers whose name and shape no living creature knowsThe poet begs the powers of nature to bring his beloved peace.
  34. 34He wishes his Beloved were DeadWere you but lying cold and dead,A rejected lover imagines his beloved dead, gentle and forgiving at last.
  35. 35He wishes for the Cloths of HeavenHad I the heavens' embroidered cloths,A poor lover offers his dreams, and asks that they be trodden softly.
  36. 36He thinks of his Past Greatness when a Part of the Constellations of HeavenI have drunk ale from the Country of the YoungA man who remembers many past lives still cannot win his love.
  37. 37The Fiddler of DooneyWhen I play on my fiddle in Dooney,A Sligo fiddler expects to beat his priestly relatives into heaven.