The Gardener 14
I was walking by the road, I do not know why, when the noonday waspast and bamboo branches rustled in the wind.The prone shadows with their out-stretched arms clung to the feetof the hurrying light.The koels were weary of their songs.I was walking by the road, I do not know why.
The hut by the side of the water is shaded by an overhanging tree.Some one was busy with her work, and her bangles made music in the corner.I stood before this hut, I know not why.
The narrow winding road crosses many a mustard field, and many a mango forest.It passes by the temple of the village and the market at the riverlanding place.I stopped by this hut, I do not know why.
Years ago it was a day of breezy March when the murmur of thespring was languorous, and mango blossoms were dropping on thedust.The rippling water leapt and licked the brass vessel that stood onthe landing step.I think of that day of breezy March, I do not know why.
Shadows are deepening and cattle returning to their folds.The light is grey upon the lonely meadows, and the villagers arewaiting for the ferry at the bank.I slowly return upon my steps, I do not know why.
Words in this poem
- noonday n.
- Midday; twelve o'clock in the day; noon.
- clung a.
- Wasted away; shrunken. [Prop. p. p. fr. OE. clingen to wither. See Cling, v. i.]
- breezy a.
- Characterized by, or having, breezes; airy.
- languorous a.
- Producing, or tending to produce, languor; characterized by languor. [From Languor: cf. F. langoureux.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Gardener 14 is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Gardener, translated by the author from the original Bengali (Macmillan, London and New York, 1913; this text the 1915 printing), Project Gutenberg ebook #6686; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Rabindranath Tagore, The Gardener 14, in The Gardener (1913), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6686, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/tagore-gardener/poem-14.html, id L27650.
About this section
The Gardener 14 is prose, printed in 5 paragraphs. It is part of the edition and is kept for reading, but nothing here is measured: the line breaks are the printer's, so no metre, rhyme scheme or scansion is stated.
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