When the Wind Blows
When the wind blows the trees
till they bend right in half
and the rain comes in sheets and cascades,
then it’s time to shut gates,
close the latch, lock the door,
hold on tight till the wild weather fades.
If you hide in your beds,
jam pillows over heads,
to block out the deafening thunder,
you’ll stay warm, you’ll stay dry,
now there’s no need to cry,
and come out from that thing you’ve crawled under.
There’ll be sun again soon
just like Summer’s in June!
These things come and go all the time.
We will weather this weather
if we band together,
and for now, I’ll distract you with rhyme.
till they bend right in half
and the rain comes in sheets and cascades,
then it’s time to shut gates,
close the latch, lock the door,
hold on tight till the wild weather fades.
If you hide in your beds,
jam pillows over heads,
to block out the deafening thunder,
you’ll stay warm, you’ll stay dry,
now there’s no need to cry,
and come out from that thing you’ve crawled under.
There’ll be sun again soon
just like Summer’s in June!
These things come and go all the time.
We will weather this weather
if we band together,
and for now, I’ll distract you with rhyme.
This poem is copyright (©) Melinda Szymanik 2024
About the Writer
Melinda Szymanik
Melinda is an award-winning New Zealand author of picture books, short stories and novels for children and young adults. Notable titles include The Were-Nana (Scholastic, 2008) winner of Children’s Choice at the 2009 NZ Post Children’s Book Awards, A Winter’s Day in 1939 (Scholastic, 2013) winner of Librarian’s Choice at the 2014 LIANZA Awards, and Fuzzy Doodle (Scholastic, 2016) a 2017 White Raven selection. She also writes poetry for adults and children, and regularly teaches creative writing.