The following poem is taken, modified, inspired and dedicated to that wonderful poet Christina Rosetti (1830-1894). This poem, I read in 1977-78 in class VII or VIII and I did not understand a word of it. My teachers were kind enough to promote me to the next class. Today I am romancing with the same poem after almost half-a century later! And by the way I do have that English Textbook (of 50 years ago) with me almost intact!
Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you;
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.
Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I;
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.
Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you;
But when the music comes through pine trees,
The wind is passing through.
Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I;
But when our body feels cool & sweat gone
The wind has given us a bath!
Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you;
But when the dark clouds fly high in sky
The wind is passing by.
O wind, why do you never rest?
Wandering, whistling to and fro,
Bringing the rain out of the west
And from the dim north bringing snow.
The last four lines of this poem are not found anywhere on the net; but are written in my half a century old text-book. My heart is crushed with sweet emotional pain and I am wondering at myself for not understanding this beautiful poem half a century ago! I & my soul knows it so well that my understanding of poem then would have made a wonderful difference! It would have injected life into my dead life! I wonder at the utility of my understanding the beauty of this world as I resolutely take yet another step towards my grave.
In the same English text book, 200 pages later, Robert Louis Stevenson writes in his poem called “WIND”.
I saw you toss the kites on high
And blow the birds about the sky;
And all around I heard you pass
Like ladies skirts across the grass
O wind, a blowing all day long
O wind, that sings so loud a song!
I saw the different things you did
But always you yourself you hid.
I felt you push, I heard you call,
I could not see yourself at all.
O wind, a blowing all day long
O wind, that sings so load a song!
O you that are so strong and cold,
O blower, are you young or old?
Are you a beast of field or tree,
Or just a stronger child than me?
O wind, a-blowing all day long
O wind, that sings so loud a song!
Look at the beauty in the above two poems:
Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you
But when the leaves hang trembling
The wind is passing through.
I saw you toss the kites so high
And blow the birds about the sky;
And all around I heard you pass
Like ladies skirts across the grass!
Christina asks ‘Who has seen the wind’? And R.L. Stevenson answers that he saw the wind tossing the kites high blow the birds about the sky! Stevenson was born on 13th Nov 1850, died on 3rd Dec 1894 – at the age of 44 years. On the other hand, Christina was born on 5th Dec 1830, died on 29th Dec 1894. Though Christina was born 20 years earlier, both are contemporaries. I do not know if they knew each other. But I can say both these great poets were mesmerized with ‘Wind’. Both understand and explained well the inexplicable nature of wind. Two different poems in the same text book on ‘WIND’; half a century later since my first reading, I begin to understand that I can never understand anything. Now, I am two steps nearer to my grave!
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional.
What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
