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Poetry · Poem

To the Western Wind

Robert HerrickSeventeenth-century EnglishPoem
SOURCE TEXT · English original
SWEET western wind, whose luck it is,
Made rival with the air,
To give Perenna’s lip a kiss,
And fan her wanton hair:

Bring me but one, I’ll promise thee,
Instead of common showers,
Thy wings shall be embalm’d by me,
And all beset with flowers.
Cultural reading

Reading the poem

The speaker envies the west wind that has kissed Perenna's lip and fanned her hair, and offers to embalm its wings and set them with flowers in exchange for one such kiss.

Language notes

Text and edition

The English text follows the fixed historical witness in The Oxford Book of English Verse; no modern third-party translation is included.