The Windmill-E.V. Lucas

THE WINDMILL

If you should bid me make a

choice

'Twixt wind and water-mill,

In spite of all the millpond's

charms

I'd take those gleaming sweeping

arms

High on a windy hill.

The miller stands before his door

And whistles for a breeze;

And, when it comes, his sails go round

With such a mighty rushing sound

You think of heavy seas.

And if the wind declines to blow

The miller takes a nap,

(Although he'd better spend an hour

In brushing at the dust and flour

That line his coat and cap).

Now, if a water-mill were his,

Such rest he'd never know,

For round and round his crashing wheel,

His dashing, splashing, plashing wheel,

Unceasingly would go.

So, if you'd bid me make a choice

'Twixt wind and water-mill,

In spite of all a millpond's charms,

I'd take those gleaming sweeping arms

High on the windy hill.

E.V. LUCAS

Summary: The poem 'The Windmill' by E.V. Lucas describes the author's preference for windmills over water-mills. Despite the charming appearance of a millpond, the author finds the gleaming, sweeping arms of a windmill on a high, windy hill more appealing. The poem depicts the miller's reliance on the wind to turn his sails and how he must take a nap when the wind is calm, while a water-miller's wheel wound never stop turning. The author's admiration for the power and sound of the wind turning the sails of a windmill is evident in the poem, as he prefers the windy hill and the sweeping arms of the windmill over the water-mill.