Poems (Browning)/The Spirit of the Wind

The Spirit of the Wind
What is the wind, the untamed windThat wildly sounds its shrilling call?It roams the hills with stealthy feet,Or, maddened to a frenzied fear and dizzy anger,Fierce and cruel, it rushes headlong to the sun;But long before the heights attainedThe conquered host sinks back on earth;Unconquered there, a kingdom bondHolds the wind to land and sea;What ecstasy is in its flight,What nameless soul, what wild delight,Could we but mount its fleeting arms,And ride the sea and sky and all.