The Gardener 9
When I go alone at night to my love-tryst, birds do not sing, thewind does not stir, the houses on both sides of the street standsilent.It is my own anklets that grow loud at every step and I am ashamed.
When I sit on my balcony and listen for his footsteps, leaves donot rustle on the trees, and the water is still in the river likethe sword on the knees of a sentry fallen asleep.It is my own heart that beats wildly--I do not know how to quiet it.
When my love comes and sits by my side, when my body trembles andmy eyelids droop, the night darkens, the wind blows out the lamp,and the clouds draw veils over the stars.It is the jewel at my own breast that shines and gives light. I donot know how to hide it.
Words in this poem
- rustle v. i.
- To make a quick succession of small sounds, like the rubbing or moving of silk cloth or dry leaves. [AS. hristlan to rustle; or cf. Sw. rusta to stir, make a riot, or E. rush, v.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Gardener 9 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 9, in The Gardener (1913), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6686, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/tagore-gardener/poem-9.html, id L27645.
About this section
The Gardener 9 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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