The Gardener 8
When the lamp went out by my bed I woke up with the early birds.I sat at my open window with a fresh wreath on my loose hair.The young traveller came along the road in the rosy mist of the morning.A pearl chain was on his neck, and the sun's rays fell on hiscrown. He stopped before my door and asked me with an eager cry,"Where is she?"For very shame I could not say, "She is I, young traveller, she is I."
It was dusk and the lamp was not lit.I was listlessly braiding my hair.The young traveller came on his chariot in the glow of the setting sun.His horses were foaming at the mouth, and there was dust on his garment.He alighted at my door and asked in a tired voice, "Where is she?"For very shame I could not say, "She is I, weary traveller, she is I."
It is an April night. The lamp is burning in my room.The breeze of the south comes gently. The noisy parrot sleeps in its cage.My bodice is of the colour of the peacock's throat, and my mantleis green as young grass.I sit upon the floor at the window watching the deserted street.Through the dark night I keep humming, "She is I, despairingtraveller, she is I."
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- braiding n.
- The act of making or using braids.
- bodice n.
- A kind of under waist stiffened with whalebone, etc., worn esp. by women; a corset; stays. [This is properly the plural of body, Oe. bodise a pair of bodies, equiv. to a bodice. Cf. Corset, and see Body.]
- despairing a.
- Feeling or expressing despair; hopeless.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Gardener 8 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 8, in The Gardener (1913), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6686, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/tagore-gardener/poem-8.html, id L27644.
About this section
The Gardener 8 is prose, printed in 3 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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