Said the Wind to the Moon, “I will blow you out.
You stare
In the air
Like a ghost in a chair,
Always looking what I am about;
I hate to be watched–I’ll blow you out.”
The Wind blew hard, and out went the Moon.
So deep,
On a heap
Of clouds, to sleep,
Down lay the Wind, and slumbered soon–
Muttering low, “I’ve done for that Moon.”
He turned in his bed; she was there again!
On high
In the sky
With her one ghost eye,
The Moon shone white and alive and plain.
Said the Wind–”I will blow you out again.”
The Wind blew hard, and the Moon grew dim.
“With my sledge
And my wedge
I have knocked off her edge!
If only I blow right fierce and grim,
The creature will soon be dimmer than dim.”
He blew and he blew, and she thinned to a thread.
“One puff
More’s enough
To blow her to snuff!
One good puff more where the last was bred,
And glimmer, glimmer, glum will go the thread!”
He blew a great blast, and the thread was gone;
In the air
Nowhere
Was a moonbeam bare;
Far off and harmless the shy stars shone;
Sure and certain the Moon was gone.
The Wind, he took to his revels once more;
On down
In town,
Like a merry-mad clown,
He leaped and hallooed with whistle and roar,
“What’s that?” The glimmering thread once more!
He flew in a rage–he danced and blew;
But in vain
Was the pain
Of his bursting brain;
For still the broader the Moon-scrap grew,
The broader he swelled his big cheeks and blew.
Slowly she grew–till she filled the night,
And shone
On her throne
In the sky alone,
A matchless, wonderful, silvery light,
Radiant and lovely, the Queen of the night.
Said the Wind–”What a marvel of power am I!
With my breath,
Good faith!
I blew her to death–
First blew her away right out of the sky–
Then blew her in; what strength have I!”
But the Moon, she knew nothing about the affair,
For high
In the sky,
With her one white eye,
Motionless, miles above the air,
She had never heard the great Wind blare.
George Macdonald.
2 responses to George Macdonald – THE WIND AND THE MOON POEM
Music Festival President
I need to know the name of the Book where this poem The Wind and the Moon is published in. A Grade 4 class is reciting this at the AB Provincial Music Festival and we need a published copy for the adjudicator before May 25, 2011.
They performed this poem at the local festival and received gold and are now performing at the provincial level.
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Poems Every Child Should Know
I found this poem from the public domain book (from The Project Gutenberg) : Poems Every Child Should Know.
THE WHAT-EVERY-CHILD-SHOULD-KNOW-LIBRARY
Published by DOUBLEDAY, DORAN & CO., INC., for THE PARENTS’ INSTITUTE, INC. Publishers of “The Parents’ Magazine”
9 EAST 40th STREET, NEW YORK
COPYRIGHT. 1904, BY DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N.Y.
I’ve no idea if it’s still in print, it’s in the public domain (out of copyright) so you can legally print copies from http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16436.
Good luck with the music festival.
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George Macdonald – THE WIND AND THE MOON POEM
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