A Description of the Properties
North winds send hail, south winds bring rain, East winds we bewail, west winds blow amain; Northeast is too cold, southeast not too warm, Northwest is too bold, southwest doth no harm. The north is a noyer to grass of all suits, [annoyer] The east a destroyer to herb and all fruits; The south with his showers refresheth the corn, The west to all flowers may not be forborne. The west, as a father, all goodness doth bring; The east, a forbearer no manner of thing; The south, as unkind, draweth sickness too near; The north, as a friend, maketh all again clear. With temperate wind we be blessed of God; With tempest, we find, we are beat with His rod; All power we know to remain in His hand However wind blow, by sea or by land. Though winds do rage as winds were wood, [mad] And cause great tides to raise spring flood, And lofty ships leave anchor in mud, Bereafing many of life and of blood, [tearing away] Yet true it is, as cow chews cud And trees at spring do yield forth bud, Except wind stands as never it stood, [blows from a direction] It is an ill wind turns none to good.
Thomas Tusser’s other poems:
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