The ghostly wind

0 ghostly wind, the gossiper. 1 marvel at your presence.

You are my source of life, I hear you talk I feel your coolness Yet I see you not.

Your ghostly touch Is sometimes pleasant,

Sometimes shivering,

But you do service to all.

Men and birds you carry Across wide seas Over deep valleys And steep hills Above green treetops And blue mountain ranges.

At times you are fierce, angry, A destroyer.

I hear you roaring, crackling Through the forest Like charging elephants.

I see the boughs you break , The leaves you carry like birds gliding, And my heart shrinks in my bosom.

O powerful wind, your words are obeyed.

The blue seas and deep oceans swirl, They rise aloft to change my course.

They sink my boat and drown me.

Thunderstorms grind and snarl at me.

The sea creatures go deep below To find shelter and safety.

On land too birds and beasts and men take fright.

The clothes they wear, The long feathers, The hairs and bristles Lie smoothly to protect.

Indoors, in nests and dens They wait impatiently For you to fulfil your task. 0 wind, you are a hard worker.

You bring me happiness and sadness, The smell of delicious food You carry from far away.

It is sweet, my appetite grows Like fire on dry grass.

The stink of decaying things You bring too. 1 stuff my nostrils and run away.

The smell of smoke you send To indicate the presence of man. 0 wind, you chatter like talkative women.

Your anger is like a hungry husband’s.

You swear loudly and beat, But you are a ghost. 1 hear you talk I feel your nearness I breathe you in, O source of life.

Yet I don’t see you O ghostly wind, the gossiper.