Chant of Storm Winds.
Come, brothers, come ; haste o’er the sea1
Lashing its waves to foam ;2
An army of bodiless spirits are we,3
Ever through space we roam ;4
Ever, ever, pausing never,5
Sweeping onward, ever, ever !6
Up go the waves, up to the skies,7
Clouds scud over the moon,8
Down, down sink the billows, and up again rise,9
With wild and angry tune ;10
Restless ever, pausing never,11
Madly surging, ever, ever !12
Mark as we rush, huge vessels reel13
Quiv’ring like paper boats,14
The stout ship may shudder from capstan to keel,15
Care we if she sinks or floats !16
Ever, ever, pausing never,17
Fateful brothers we are ever !18
The helmsman feels our blinding hair,19
Drifting across his face,20
But he sees not the talons that rive and tear21
In our destructive chase ;22
Pressing onwards, pausing never,23
Felt though viewless, ever, ever !24
We snap the cordage, rend the mast,25
Flapping to shreds each sail,26
Till the mariner sobs to the sobbing blast27
From a wreck before the gale ;28
Fiercely flying, pausing never,29
Swooping landwards, onwards ever !30
Earth hears the rushing of our wings,31
And trembles as we pass ;32
For we crush the pride of material things33
As men’s feet crush the grass ;34
Restless ever, pausing never,35
Storm Winds, weird and mighty ever !36
Titanic trees we rend in twain,37
Whirl roofs like flakes of snow,38
Swirl mortals like motes in our mad hurricane,39
And castles like cards o’erthrow ;40
Ever, ever, pausing never,41
Potent spirits, dreaded ever !42
Sin shudders at our voices wild,43
As we rush howling past ;44
Men stalwart and burly whom guilt hath defiled45
Crouch ’neath the searching blast ;46
Piercing ever, pausing never,47
Slumb’ring conscience rousing ever !48
Lost spirits, agonised with pain,49
To our earth-bound brothers,50
Shrieking this summons to join our wild train51
“ Ye are ours and we Another’s.”52
Ever, ever, pausing never,53
Calling souls to us for ever !54
Storm spirits, working wreck and woe,55
With devastating breath,56
Our ban may bring blessing we never may know,57
Though hand in hand with death ;58
Ever, ’spite our fierce endeavour,59
To His will subdued for ever !60
On, brothers, on ; with wings unfurled ;61
Dreaded, not understood ;62
We are driving pestilence out of the world,63
Working not ill but good ;64
Ever, ’spite our fierce endeavour,65
God’s own ministers for ever !66