Who Has Seen the Wind?

Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you:

But when the leaves hang trembling,

The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I:

But when the trees bow down their heads,

The wind is passing by.

by Christina Rossetti

In 1893, Christina Rossetti’s published a book of nursery rhymes called Sing-Song, which included the short poem Who Has Seen the Wind. Its rhyme scheme and repetition makes for easy memorization and therefore a good candidate for a children’s poem. I read it and see something deeper than just a nursery rhyme about the weather, and that’s what I want to show you.

The speaker asks the question “Who has seen the wind?”. Of course, nobody can see the wind, but the speaker describes how we can see evidence of it. She describes seeing the presence of the wind, noting that when the wind is blowing, “the leaves hang trembling” and “the trees bow down their heads”. 

The beauty of poetry is that readers draw on their own experiences and uncover layers that other people may not see. Most people will get some sort of underlying message from this poem, but what I want you to see is the spiritual message. Christina Rossetti was a devout Evangelical, and often infused spirituality into her poetry. I believe that she used this idea of the wind as a metaphor for God. We can’t see God, but we can feel his presence and see the impact he has in our lives and the lives of those around us. He is our grand artist, and we can look at the beauty in our world and see his handiwork.

Sometimes, we cry out to God again and again until it doesn’t seem like he’s listening. It doesn’t seem like he answers our prayers or really cares. In those moments, look around you. As you’ve always told me, just because he doesn’t answer the way we want doesn't mean he isn’t listening. Maybe he’s telling us to wait on him. I included this poem because it’s one of my favorites and I thought you would like it too. It’s always good to be reminded that seeing doesn't mean believing, believing is seeing. Keep this poem in mind when it feels like you’re alone.