Maiden West Wind

By Cliff Lake

 

Maiden West Wind

 

She first saw him long ago,

Graceful, regal,

Clothed in the finest shimmering black,

It was not then that she lost her heart,

For she gave it freely.

 

She spoke to him softly in that springtime,

A whisper and a beckoning,

A warm caress she became,

Calling in the morning, or at sunset,

Though he appeared not to hear.

 

But maiden West Wind was steadfast,

For she would have him lift his wing,

And take her under lofting gently,

Sailing the skies,

As he sailed the waters below.

 

The days grew warmer as they must,

And summer approached all eager,

And to him came another,

And she was as graceful as he,

And of his like.

 

Then did maiden West Wind grow wrathful,

For she had warmed the grasses for him,

And had borne warm rains to him,

And carried away smokes and dusts,

And he noticed her not.

 

Now his affections were given to that white swan,

So like to him and unlike,

So that maiden West Wind could not fathom it,

As she too was unlike,

And her anger grew terrible.

 

Then did maiden West Wind approach with great force,

A gale did she become,

Thrashing the lake’s waters as a wielded club,

Seeking to sweep the interloper away,

While her erstwhile love had winged elsewhere.

 

But alas! He returned as she whipped the lake in her fury,

And being aloft was caught in her raging,

And blown far beyond her knowledge,

And was stripped of his bearings,

And could not return.

 

Now we wait out the winter months,

Our gaze ever turned from the east,

Waiting on the welcome warmth,

And listen for the soft cry of maiden West Wind,

Mourning the love she lost long ago.

 

Beware maiden West Wind,

For her patience may become short,

As she remembers that neglect long past,

And let her cry in the eaves remind,

That we may be the bearers of our own loss.

 

Cliff Lake 4/6/2024

Copyright © Clifford Lake 2024

Location: Wichita, KS, USA

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