8. Summary of the poem

"Wind" is a free verse written by Subramania Bharati in Tamil and translated into English by AK Ramanujan. The poet asks the wind to come down softly without causing any destruction. But the wind comes strong and crumbles all the weak houses, doors, rafters and, therefore, crumbles people and their hearts. The poet says the wind can poke fun only at the weaklings and cannot deter the strong people. So he asks us to build strong homes, fit strong doors, make our bodies fit and, our hearts steadfast. He says if we do this, the wind will become our friend and help us grow better. Finally, he says that wind can put off a small, weak fire, but it cannot put off a wildfire. It can only make it flourish and blaze stronger. Similarly, if we strengthen ourselves, no external force can harm us.