Cambridge Poets 1900–1913

JEAN ISABEL SMITH . * EASTERN WINTER . RITTER and shrill, O wind , bitter and shrill, D Spare us no slashings of thy frozen blade ; Most potent slayer, stunning heart and will, Thought -numbing , grinding, searing , unafraid ; Scourge of the iron sea and snow - dumb ways , Whirl the white stinging dust through lifeless skies ; We wear the shackles of relentless days , Give us thy keenliest - whetted cruelties : Then , when we flee , by shadowy ways and far , These mindless shapes bereft of mystery , And fare through lands where scents and colours are , Yea , we - whose souls are small exceedingly ; When buttercups ' largesse on sultry plains , And sun - dried mowings lying sweet and grey , And opal benison of quiet rains Have satisfied the reeling sense with May ; Grant us remembrance - lest we fail to know One lavish moment 's poignant loveliness ,- ) How in the grey streets passeth to and fro Shrill - crying , lost , night - blinded bitterness . 171