North Wind

The North Wind teases moored-up boats,
ties knots in grass along the coast,
leaves on our lips a salty taste,
and chases inland ocean ghosts.

It plays hide and seek with housewives’ washing,
steals old folks’ breath and sets them coughing,
plucks at branches, sends them crashing,
and cheers the rain’s pouring and splashing.

The North Wind wakes us up at night,
it flickers the electric light,
but during the day it can delight
by playfully tugging at a kite.

Kim M. Russell, 10th July 2019

Image result for kay nielsen north wind
‘The North Wind Went Over the Sea’ by Kay Nielsen, illustrator – image found on Pinterest

My response to Poets United Midweek Motif: Weather

Sumana is here with another Midweek Motif, and this time it’s weather, something we British seem to talk about a lot, although Sumana says that weather phenomena have become common topics of conversations worldwide, as humans have altered their environment and much damaged their relationship with nature.

Sumana would like to see what face of weather peeps through our lines: merciful, catastrophic or metaphoric. She has shared quotations from Dale Evans and Oscar Wilde, as well as poems from Dorothy Parker and Dylan Thomas.

I’m sharing a children’s poem I wrote not long before I read this prompt.

28 thoughts on “North Wind”

  3. Such gorgeous, gorgeous rhyming in this one, Kim! ❤️ Especially love; “It plays hide and seek with housewives’ washing.” 😀

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    1. Thanks Myrna. I had trouble finding an illustration I liked. This one is by a Danish art nouveau children’s book illustrator, but I’m not sure if it’s from a children’s book.

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  12. How kind is the north wind! It is wonderful when you can connect to your inner child … it makes you leap for joy in sheer happiness. ‘Life and ‘living’ are at the core of this poem but at the same time, it is contemplative…
    Fantastic. What a delightful poem, Kim.

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  13. This is beautiful, Kim. I love “and chases inland ocean ghosts”. What a deeply compelling image. What is it like for ocean ghosts to be swept inland, and what is it like for us land-goers to be surrounded by ghosts blown in on the North Wind? Love it!

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