"The wind was a torrent of darkness..."

...With those words begin the famous poem by Alfred Noyes.
It is known as one of the greatest poems in the history of this world.
I was listening to the amazing and captivating song adaption by Loreena Mckennitt, when the last verse struck me like a thunderbolt from the sky.

Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were his spurs i' the golden noon; wine-red was his velvet coat,
When they shot him down on the highway, Down like a dog on the highway,
And he lay in his blood on the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.

To listen to the song, go to


Don't forget to read the tragic, yet poignant poem that has rivaled the imagination for centuries.