Windy Nights

Audio Version
In honor of Hallowe’en, I’d like to share with you guys a poem my dad used to read to us as children which always scared the hell out of us.

Windy Nights, by Robert Louis Stevenson. From “A Child’s Garden of Verses”.

WHENEVER the moon and stars are set,
Whenever the wind is high,
All night long in the dark and wet,
A man goes riding by.
Late in the night when the fires are out,
Why does he gallop and gallop about?
Whenever the trees are crying aloud,
And ships are tossed at sea,
By, on the highway, low and loud,
By at the gallop goes he.
By at the gallop he goes, and then
By he comes back at the gallop again.

4 Responses to “Windy Nights”

  1. Helen Says:

    Hmm…is that scary, or is it depressing?

  2. David Says:

    I always thought it was scary. It might be depressing if he was out skulking, he’s galloping. It’s dark and windy and there is the sound of horseshoes rapidly beating the ground. Spooky.

  3. ABQ woman Says:

    Trust me, Helen, it’s *terrifying*. You just have to have heard our dad read it. Yikes! Makes me wanna hide my head under the covers just thinking about it.

  4. Matt Roth Says:

    I don’t know which was scarier…Mickey reading this or david’s shreiks while listening to it…

    By the way - your costume is a hit on wall street.

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