For the thawing wind

For the thawing wind

Bring the rain, oh noisy southwest wind!

Come with singing, come with nest-building;

Give a dream to the flowers buried in the ground.

Let the stagnant snowdrifts on the riverbanks be turned into running water.

And from the white of the sky the deep brown;

But whatever you do this night

Wash my window and make it flow;

Melt away the ice and melt away the window.

Melt away the glass and leave the pane

Leave the pane like a cross to its cloistered master;

Break into my narrow stall.

The pictures on the walls of the church are shaking;

Turn the rattling pages of the book

And scatter the verses all over the floor

And drive the poet from his home.