Islands, solitary or secretly bunched together. The wind blows in the archipelagos so strongly that the islands, big as they may be, look like ships cast away to the immensity of the sea in search of a port to dock; but the islands are tied to the sea and they breathe their air from it. Japan is hit by winds from all directions: fron the north, the Boekifu, the Kochi; from the ease, the Narai, which blows from Siberia. The spirit of the wind is the Kamikaze. In Cuba, the Bayomo comes from the north, and in green England the terrible north wind is called Helm; in Iceland the cold wind is Rok, and Oe on the Faeroe Isles. The strong wind in Hawaii is called Kohala while the mild breeze is Kohilo; on Java, Bali is the soft friendly wind from the east. In the archipelago of the Philippines the Colla shakes the clouds and brews the storm. The Willy-Willy blows tirelessly through the islands in the Timor Sea, and the Tuvalu gusts amongst those in the coral reefs.

The Wind Blew Shrill and Smart

The wind blew shrill and smart,
And the wind awoke my heart
Again to go a-sailing o'er the sea,
To hear the cordage moan
And the straining timbers groan,
And to see the flying pennon lie a-lee.

O sailor of the fleet,
It is time to stir the feet!
It's time to man the dingy and to row!
It's lay your hand in mine
And it's empty down the wine,
And it's drain a health to death before we go!

To death, my lads, we sail;
And it's death that blows the gale
And death that holds the tiller as we ride.
For he's the king of all
In the tempest and the squall,
And the ruler of the Ocean wild and wide!

Robert Louis Stevenson.