When The Wind Storms By With A Shout

William Ernest Henley

When the wind storms by with a shout, and the stern sea-caves
Rejoice in the tramp and the roar of onsetting waves,
Then, then, it comes home to the heart that the top of life
Is the passion that burns the blood in the act of strife—
Till you pity the dead down there in their quiet graves.

But to drowse with the fen behind and the fog before,
When the rain-rot spreads and a tame sea mumbles the shore,
Not to adventure, none to fight, no right and no wrong,
Sons of the Sword heart-sick for a stave of your sire’s old song—
O, you envy the blessed death that can live no more!

Next 10 Poems

• William Ernest Henley : Where Forlorn Sunsets Flare And Fade
• William Ernest Henley : While The West Is Paling
• William Ernest Henley : Why, My Heart, Do We Love Her So?
• William Ernest Henley : You Played And Sang A Snatch Of Song
• William Ernest Henley : Your Heart Has Trembled To My Tongue
• George Herbert : A Dialogue
• George Herbert : A Dialogue-anthem
• George Herbert : A Wreath
• George Herbert : Aaron
• George Herbert : Affliction

Previous 10 Poems

• William Ernest Henley : What Have I Done For You
• William Ernest Henley : We'll Go No More A-roving By The Light Of The Moon
• William Ernest Henley : We Flash Across The Level
• William Ernest Henley : Waiting
• William Ernest Henley : Visitor
• William Ernest Henley : Villon's Straight Tip To All Cross Coves
• William Ernest Henley : Vigil
• William Ernest Henley : Trees And The Menace Of Night
• William Ernest Henley : To W. R. ( Ii )
• William Ernest Henley : To W. R.