Fruit gathering

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FRUIT-GATHERING

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MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited

LONnON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA
MADRAS • MRLBOUKNE

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO
DALLAS • SAN FRANCISCO

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd.

TOHOKTO

9^r^X/

FRUIT-GATHERING

BY

Sir RABINDRANATH TAGORE

MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED

ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON

1916

COPYRIGHT

Bid me and I shall gather my fruits
to bring them in full baskets into your
courtyard, though some are lost and
some not ripe.

For the season grows heavy with its
fulness, and there is a plaintive shep-
herd's pipe in the shade.

Bid me and I shall set sail on the
river.

The March wind is fretful, fretting
the languid waves into murmurs.

The garden has yielded its all, and

in the weary hour of evening the call

comes from your house on the shore in

the sunset.

£ B

FRUIT-GATHERING

II

My life when young was like a
flower ^ — a flower that loosens a petal
or two from her abundance and never
feels the loss when the spring breeze
comes to beg at her door.

Now at the end of youth my life is
like a fruit, having nothing to spare,
and waiting to offer herself completely
with her full burden of sweetness.

FRUIT-GATHERING 8

III

Is summer's festival only for fresh
blossoms and not also for withered
leaves and faded flowers ?

Is the song of the sea in tune only
with the rising waves ?

Does it not also sing with the waves
that fall?

Jewels are woven into the carpet
where stands my king, but there are
patient clods waiting to be touched by
his feet.

Few are the wise and the great who
sit by my Master, but he has taken the
foohsh in his arms and made me his
servant for ever.

FRUIT-GATHERING

IV

I WOKE and found his letter with the
morning.

I do not know what it says, for I
cannot read.

I shall leave the wise man alone with
his books, I shall not trouble him, for
who knows if he can read what the
letter says.

Let me hold it to my forehead and
press it to my heart.

When the night grows stiU and stars
come out one by one I will spread it
on my lap and stay silent.

The rusthng leaves will read it aloud
to me, the rushing stream will chant it,
and the seven wise stars will sing it to
me from the sky.

FRUIT-GATHERING 5

I cannot find what I seek, I cannot
understand what I would learn ; but
this unread letter has lightened my
burdens and turned my thoughts into
songs.

6 FRUIT-GATHERING

A HANDFUL of dust could hide your
signal when I did not know its
meaning.

Now that I am wiser I read it in all
that hid it before.

It is painted in petals of flowers;
waves flash it from their foam ; hills
hold it high on their summits.

I had my face turned from you,
therefore I read the letters awry and
knew not their meaning.

FRUIT-GATHERING

VI

Where roads are made I lose my
way.

In the wide water, in the blue sky
there is no line of a track.

The pathway is hidden by the birds*
wings, by the star-fires, by the flowers
of the wayfaring seasons.

And I ask my heart if its blood
carries the wisdom of the unseen way.

8 FRUIT-GATHERING

VII

Alas, I cannot stay in the house, and
home has become no home to me, for
the eternal Stranger calls, he is going
along the road.

The sound of his footfall knocks at
my breast ; it pains me !

The wind is up, the sea is moaning.

I leave all my cares and doubts to
follow the homeless tide, for the Stranger
calls me, he is going along the road.

FRUIT-GATHERING

VIII

Be ready to launch forth, my heart 1
and let those linger who must.

For your name has been called in
the morning sky.

Wait for none I

The desire of the bud is for the night
and dew, but the blown flower cries for
the freedom of light.

Burst your sheath, my heart, and
come forth I

10 FRUIT-GATHERING

IX

When I lingered among my hoarded
treasure I felt like a worm that feeds
in the dark upon the fruit where it
was born.

I leave this prison of decay.

I care not to haunt the mouldy still-
ness, for I go in search of everlasting
youth ; I throw away all that is not
one with my life nor as light as my
laughter.

I run through time and, O my
heart, in your chariot dances the poet
who sings while he wanders.

FRUIT-GATHERING 11

You took my hand and drew me to
your side, made me sit on the high seat
before all men, till I became timid,
unable to stir and walk my own way ;
doubting and debating at every step lest
I should tread upon any thorn of their
disfavour.

I am freed at last I

The blow has come, the drum of
insult sounded, my seat is laid low in
the dust.

My paths are open before me.

My wings are full of the desire of
the sky.

I go to join the shooting stars of
midnight, to plunge into the profound
shadow.

I am like the storm-driven cloud of

12 FRUIT-GATHERING

summer that, having cast off its crown
of gold, hangs as a sword the thunder-
bolt upon a chain of lightning.

In desperate joy I run upon the
dusty path of the despised ; I draw
near to your final welcome.

The child finds its mother when it
leaves her womb.

When I am parted from you, thrown
out from your household, I am free to
see your face.

FRUIT-GATHERING 13

XI

It decks me only to mock me, this
jewelled chain of mine.

It bruises me when on my neck, it
strangles me when I struggle to tear
it off.

It grips my throat, it chokes my
singing.

Could I but offer it to your hand,
my Lord, I would be saved.

Take it from me, and in exchange
bind me to you with a garland, for I
am ashamed to stand before you with
this jewelled chain on my neck.

14 FRUIT-GATHERING

XII

Far below flowed the Jumna, swift
and clear, above frowned the jutting
bank.

Hills dark with the woods and
scarred with the torrents were gathered
around.

Govinda, the great Sikh teacher,
sat on the rock reading scriptures,
when Raghunath, his disciple, proud
of his wealth, came and bowed to him
and said, " I have brought my poor
present unworthy of your acceptance."

Thus saying he displayed before the
teacher a pair of gold bangles wrought
with costly stones.

The master took up one of them,
twirling it round his finger, and the
diamonds darted shafts of Ught.

FRUIT-GATHERING 15

Suddenly it slipped from his hand
and roUed down the bank into the
water.

" Alas," screamed Raghunath, and
jumped into the stream.

The teacher set his eyes upon his
book, and the water held and hid what
it stole and went its way.

The daylight faded when Raghunath
came back to the teacher tired and
dripping.

He panted and said, " I can still
get it back if you show me where it
fell."

The teacher took up the remaining
bangle and throwing it into the water
said, " It is there."

16 FRUIT-GATHERING

XIII

To move is to meet you every moment,
Fellow-traveller 1

It is to sing to the falling of your
feet.

He whom your breath touches does
not glide by the shelter of the bank.

He spreads a reckless sail to the
wind and rides the turbulent water.

He who throws his doors open and
steps onward receives your greeting.

He does not stay to count his gain
or to mourn his loss ; his heart beats
the drum for his march, for that is
to march with you every step,

Fellow-traveller I

FRUIT-GATHERING 17

XIV

My portion of the best in this world
will come from your hands : such was
your promise.

Therefore your light glistens in my
tears.

I fear to be led by others lest I miss
you waiting in some road corner to
be my guide.

I walk my own wilful way till my
very folly tempts you to my door.

For I have your promise that my
portion of the best in this world will
come from your hands.

18 FRUIT-GATHERING

XV

YotJR speech is simple, my Master,
but not theirs who talk of you.

I understand the voice of your stars
and the silence of your trees.

I know that my heart would open
like a flower; that my life has filled
itself at a hidden fountain.

Your songs, like birds from the
lonely land of snow, are winging to
build their nests in my heart against
the warmth of its April, and I am
content to wait for the merry season.

FRUIT-GATHERING 19

XVI

They knew the way and went to seek
you along the narrow lane, but I
wandered abroad into the night for I
was ignorant.

I was not schooled enough to be
afraid of you in the dark, therefore
I came upon your doorstep unaware.

The wise rebuked me and bade me
be gone, for I had not come by the
lane.

I turned away in doubt, but you
held me fast, and their scolding became
louder every day.

80 FRUIT-GATHERING

XVII

I BROUGHT out my earthen lamp
from my house and cried, " Come,
children, I will light your path I "

The night was still dark when I
returned, leaving the road to its silence,
crying, ** Light me, O Fire! for my
earthen lamp lies broken in the dust I

FRUIT-GATHERING 21

XVIII

No : it is not yours to open buds into
blossoms.

Shake the bud, strike it ; it is beyond
your power to make it blossom.

Your touch soils it, you tear its
petals to pieces and strew them in the
dust.

But no colours appear, and no
perfume.

Ah I it is not for you to open the
bud into a blossom.

He who can open the bud does it so
simply.

He gives it a glance, and the life-sap
stirs through its veins.

At his breath the flower spreads its
wings and flutters in the wind.

22 FRUIT-GATHERING

Colours flush out like heart-longings,
the perfume betrays a sweet secret

He who can open the bud does it so
simply.

FRUIT-GATHERING 23

XIX

SudAs, the gardener, plucked from
his tank the last lotus left by the ravage
of winter and went to sell it to the king
at the palace gate.

There he met a traveller who said to
him, "Ask your price for the last lotus,
— I shall offer it to Lord Buddha."

Sudas said, " If you pay one golden
masha it will be yours."

The traveller paid it.

At that moment the king came out
and he wished to buy the flower, for
he was on his way to see Lord Buddha,
and he thought, "It would be a fine
thing to lay at his feet the lotus that
bloomed in winter."

When the gardener said he had been
offered a golden masha the king offered

24 FRUIT-GATHERING

him ten, but the traveller doubled the
price.

The gardener, being greedy, imagined
a greater gain from him for whose sake
they were bidding. He bowed and
said, " I cannot sell this lotus."

In the hushed shade of the mango
grove beyond the city wall Sudas stood
before Lord Buddha, on whose lips sat
the silence of love and whose eyes
beamed peace like the morning star of
the dew- washed autumn.

Sudas looked in his face and put the
lotus at his feet and bowed his head to
the dust.

Buddha smiled and asked, " What is
your wish, my son ? "

Sud^ cried, "The least touch of
your feet."

FRUIT-GATHERING 25

XX

Make me thy poet, O Night, veiled
Night 1

There are some who have sat speech-
less for ages in thy shadow; let me
utter their songs.

Take me up on thy chariot without
wheels, running noiselessly from world
to world, thou queen in the palace of
time, thou darkly beautiful I

Many a questioning mind has
stealthily entered thy courtyard and
roamed through thy lampless house
seeking for answers.

From many a heart, pierced with
the arrow of joy from the hands of the
Unknown, have burst forth glad chants,
shaking the darkness to its foundation.

26 FRUIT-GATHERIN G

Those wakeful souls gaze in the
starlight in wonder at the treasure they
have suddenly found.

Make me their poet, O Night, the
poet of thy fathomless silence.

FRUIT-GATHERING 27

XXI

I WILL meet one day the Life within
me, the joy that hides in my Hfe, though
the days perplex my path with their idle
dust.

I have known it in glimpses, and its
fitful breath has come upon me making
my thoughts fragrant for a while.

I will meet one day the Joy without
me that dwells behind the screen of
light — and will stand in the overflowing
solitude where all things are seen as by
their creator.

28 FRUIT-GATHERING

XXII

This autumn morning is tired with
excess of light, and if your songs grow
fitful and languid give me your flute
awhile.

I shall but play with it as the whim
takes me, — now take it on my lap, now
touch it with my lips, now keep it by
my side on the grass.

But in the solemn evening stillness
I shall gather flowers, to deck it with
wreaths, I shall fill it with fragrance ; I
shall worship it with the Ughted lamp.

Then at night I shall come to you
and give you back your flute.

You will play on it the music of mid-
night when the lonely crescent moon
wanders among the stars.

FRUIT-GATHERING 29

XXIII

The poet's mind floats and dances on
the waves of life amidst the voices of
wind and water.

Now when the sun has set and the
darkened sky draws down upon the sea
like drooping lashes upon a weary eye
it is time to take away his pen, and
let his thoughts sink into the bottom
of the deep amid the eternal secret of
that silence.

80 FRUIT-GATHERING

XXIV

The night is dark and your slumber
is deep in the hush of my being.

Wake, O Pain of Love, for I know
not how to open the door, and I stand
outside.

The hours wait, the stars watch, the
wind is still, the silence is heavy in my
heart.

Wake, Love, wake I brim my empty
cup, and with a breath of song ruffle the
night

FRUIT-GATHERING 31

XXV

The bird of the morning sings.

Whence has he word of the morning
before the morning breaks, and when
the dragon night still holds the sky in
its cold black coils ?

Tell me, bird of the morning, how,
through the twofold night of the sky and
the leaves, he found his way into your
dream, the messenger out of the east ?

The world did not believe you when
you cried^ " The sun is on his way, the
night is no more."

O sleeper, awake !

Bare your forehead, waiting for the
first blessing of light, and sing with the
bird of the morning in glad faith.

FRUIT-GATHERING

XXVI

The beggar in me lifted his lean
hands to the starless sky and cried into
night's ear with his hungry voice.

His prayers were to the blind Dark-
ness who lay like a fallen god in a
desolate heaven of lost hopes.

The cry of desire eddied round a
chasm of despair, a wailing bird circUng
its empty nest.

But when morning dropped anchor
at the rim of the East, the beggar in
me leapt and cried :

" Blessed am I that the deaf night
denied me — that its coffer was empty."

He cried, " O Life, O Light, you are
precious ! and precious is the joy that
at last has known you I "

FRUIT-GATHERING 33

XXVII

Sanatan was telling his beads by the
Ganges when a Brahmin in rags came
to him and said, " Help me, I am
poor I "

" My alms-bowl is all that is my
own," said Sanatan, " I have given away
everything I had."

" But my lord Shiva came to me in
my dreams," said the Brahmin, "and
counselled me to come to you."

Sanatan suddenly remembered he
had picked up a stone without price
among the pebbles on the river-bank,
and thinking that some one might need
it hid it in the sands.

He pointed out the spot to the
Brahmin, who wondering dug up the
stone.

The Brahmin sat on the earth and

D

34 FRUIT-GATHERING

mused alone till the sun went down
behind the trees, and cowherds went
home with their cattle.

Then he rose and came slowly to
Sana tan and said, '* Master, give me
the least fraction of the wealth that
disdains all the wealth of the world."

And he threw the precious stone
into the water.

FRUIT-GATHERING 35

XXVIII

Time after time I came to your gate
with raised hands, asking for more and
yet more.

You gave and gave, now in slow
measure, now in sudden excess.

I took some, and some things I let
drop ; some lay heavy on my hands ;
some I made into playthings and broke
them when tired; till the wrecks and
the hoard of your gifts grew immense,
hiding you, and the ceaseless expecta-
tion wore my heart out.

Take, oh take — has now become my
cry.

Shatter all from this beggar's bowl :
put out this lamp of the importunate
watcher : hold my hands, raise me from
the still -gathering heap of your gifts
into the bare infinity of your uncrowded
presence.

86 FRUIT-GATHERING

XXIX

You have set me among those who are
defeated.

I know it is not for me to win, nor
to leave the game.

I shall plmige into the pool although
but to sink to the bottom.

I shall play the game of my undoing.

I shall stake all I have and when I
lose my last penny I shall stake myself,
and then I think I shall have won
through my utter defeat.

FRUIT-GATHERING 37

XXX

A SMILE of mirth spread over the sky
when you dressed my heart in rags and
sent her forth into the road to beg.

She went from door to door, and
many a time when her bowl was nearly
full she was robbed.

At the end of the weary day she
came to your palace gate holding up
her pitiful bowl, and you came and
took her hand and seated her beside
you on your throne.

88 FRUIT-GATHERING

XXXI

" Who among you will take up the
duty of feeding the hungry ? " Lord
Buddha asked his followers when
famine raged at Shravasti.

Ratnakar, the banker, hung his head
and said, " Much more is needed than
all my wealth to feed the hungry."

Jaysen, the chief of the King's army,
said, " I would gladly give my life's
blood, but there is not enough food in
my house."

Dharmapal, who owned broad acres
of land, said with a sigh, " The drought
demon has sucked my fields dry. I
know not how to pay King's dues."

Then rose Supriya, the mendicant's
daughter.

FRUIT-GATHERING 39

She bowed to all and meekly said,
" I will feed the hungry."

" How I " they cried in surprise.
"How can you hope to fulfil that
vow ? "

" I am the poorest of you all," said
Supriya, " that is my strength. I have
my coffer and my store at each of
your houses."

40 FRUIT-GATHERING

XXXII

My king was unknown to me, there-
fore when he claimed his tribute I was
bold to think I would hide myself
leaving my debts unpaid.

I fled and fled behind my day's work
and my night's dreams.

But his claims followed me at every
breath I drew.

Thus I came to know that I am
known to him and no place left which
is mine.

Now I wish to lay my all before his
feet, and gain the right to my place in
his kingdom.

FRUIT-GATHERING 41

XXXIII

When I thought I would mould
you, an image from my life for men
to worship, I brought my dust and
desires and all my coloured delusions
and dreams.

When I asked you to mould with
my life an image from your heart for
you to love, you brought your fire and
force, and truth, loveliness and peace.

42 FRUIT-GATHERING

XXXIV

" Sire," announced the servant to the
King, "the saint Narottam has never
deigned to enter your royal temple.

" He is singing God's praise under the
trees by the open road. The temple is
empty of worshippers.

"They flock round him like bees
round the white lotus, leaving the
golden jar of honey unheeded."

The King, vexed at heart, went to
the spot where Narottam sat on the
grass.

He asked him, "Father, why leave
my temple of the golden dome and sit
on the dust outside to preach God's
love?"

"Because God is not there in your
temple," said Narottam.

The King frowned and said, "Do

FRUIT-GATHERING 43

you know, twenty millions of gold
went to the making of that marvel of
art, and it was consecrated to God with
costly rites ? "

" Yes, I know it," answered Narot-
tam. " It was in that year when
thousands of your people whose houses
had been burned stood vainly asking
for help at your door.

" And God said, * The poor creature
who can give no shelter to his brothers
would build my house I '

"And he took his place with the
shelterless under the trees by the road.

"And that golden bubble is empty
of all but hot vapour of pride."

The King cried in anger, "Leave
my land."

Calmly said the saint, " Yes, banish
me where you have banished my God."

44 FRUIT-GATHERING

XXXV

The trumpet lies in the dust.

The wind is weary, the light is dead.

Ah the evil day I

Come, fighters, carrying your flags,
and singers, with your war-songs I

Come, pilgrims of the march, hurry-
ing on your journey I

The trumpet lies in the dust waiting
for us.

I was on my way to the temple with
my evening offerings, seeking for a place
of rest after the day's dusty toil : hoping
my hurts would be healed and the
stains in my garment washed white,
when I found thy trumpet lying in the
dust.

Was it not the hour for me to light
my evening lamp ?

FRUIT-GATHERING 45

Had not the night sung its lullaby
to the stars ?

0 thou blood-red rose, my poppies
of sleep have paled and faded I

1 was certain my wanderings were
over and my debts all paid when
suddenly I came upon thy trumpet
lying in the dust.

Strike my drowsy heart with thy
spell of youth !

Let my joy in life blaze up in fire.

Let the shafts of awakening fly
through the heart of night, and a thrill
of dread shake blindness and palsy.

I have come to raise thy trumpet
from the dust.

Sleep is no more for me — my walk
shall be through showers of arrows.

Some shall run out of their houses
and come to my side — some shall weep.

Some in their beds shall toss and
groan in dire dreams.

46 FRUIT-GATHERING

For to-night thy trumpet shall be
sounded.

From thee I have asked peace only
to find shame.

Now I stand before thee — help me
to put on my armour !

Let hard blows of trouble strike fire
into my life.

Let my heart beat in pain, the drum
of thy victory.

My hands shall be utterly emptied
to take up thy trumpet

FRUIT-GATHERING 47

XXXVI

When, mad in their mirth, they
raised dust to soil thy robe, O Beauti-
ful, it made my heart sick.

I cried to thee and said, " Take thy
rod of punishment and judge them."

The morning light struck upon those
eyes, red with the revel of night ; the
place of the white lily greeted their
burning breath ; the stars through the
depth of the sacred dark stared at their
carousing — at those that raised dust to
soil thy robe, O Beautiful I

Thy judgment seat was in the flower
garden, in the birds' notes in springtime:
in the shady river -banks, where the
trees muttered in answer to the mutter-
ing of the waves.

O my Lover, they were pitiless in
their passion.

48 FRUIT-GATHERING

They prowled in the dark to snatch
thy ornaments to deck their own
desires.

When they had struck thee and
thou wert pained, it pierced me to the
quick, and I cried to thee and said,
"Take thy sword, O my Lover, and
judge them !

Ah, but thy justice was vigilant.

A mother's tears were shed on their
insolence ; the imperishable faith of a
lover hid their spears of rebellion in its
own wounds.

Thy judgment was in the mute pain
of sleepless love : in the blush of the
chaste : in the tears of the night of the
desolate : in the pale morning-light of
forgiveness.

O Terrible, they in their reckless
greed climbed thy gate at night, break-
ing into thy storehouse to rob thee.

But the weight of their plunder grew

FRUIT-GATHERING 49

immense, too heavy to carry or to
remove.

Thereupon I cried to thee and
said. Forgive them, O Terrible I

Thy forgiveness burst in storms,
throwing them down, scattering their
thefts in the dust.

Thy forgiveness was in the thunder-
stone ; in the shower of blood ; in the
angry red of the sunset.

£

50 FRUIT-GATHERING

XXXVII

Upagupta, the disciple of Buddha,
lay asleep on the dust by the city wall
of Mathura.

Lamps were all out, doors were all
shut, and stars were all hidden by the
murky sky of August.

Whose feet were those tinkling with
anklets, touching his breast of a
sudden ?

He woke up startled, and the light
from a woman's lamp struck his for-
giving eyes.

It was the dancing girl, starred with
jewels, clouded with a pale-blue mantle,
drunk with the wine of her youth.

She lowered her lamp and saw the
young face, austerely beautiful

"Forgive me, young ascetic," said
the woman ; " graciously come to my

FRUIT-GATHERING 51

house. The dusty earth is not a fit bed
for you."

The ascetic answered, " Woman, go
on your way ; when the time is ripe I
will come to you."

Suddenly the black night showed its
teeth in a flasli of lightning.

The storm growled from the corner
of the sky, and the woman trembled in
fear.

The branches of the wayside trees
were aching with blossom.

Gay notes of the flute came floating
in the warm spring air from afar.

The citizens had gone to the woods,
to the festival of flowers.

From the mid-sky gazed the full
moon on the shadows of the silent
town.

The young ascetic was walking in

52 FRUIT-GATHERING

the lonely street, while overhead the
lovesick koels urged from the mango
branches their sleepless plaint.

Upagupta passed through the city-
gates, and stood at the base of the
rampart.

What woman lay in the shadow of
the wall at his feet, struck with the
black pestilence, her body spotted with
sores, hurriedly driven away from the
town?

The ascetic sat by her side, taking
her head on his knees, and moistened
her lips with water and smeared her
body with balm. *

" Who are you, merciful one ? " asked
the woman.

" The time, at last, has come to visit
you, and I am here," replied the young
ascetic.

FRUIT-GATHERING 53

XXXVIII

This is no mere dallying of love be-
tween us, my lover.

Again and again have swooped down
upon me the screaming nights of storm,
blowing out my lamp : dark doubts
have gathered, blotting out all stars from
my sky.

Again and again the banks have
burst, letting the flood sweep away my
harvest, and wailing and despair have
rent my sky from end to end.

This have I learnt that there are
blows of pain in your love, never the
cold apathy of death.

54 FRUIT-GATHERING

XXXIX

The wall breaks asunder, light, like
divine laughter, bursts in.

Victory, O Light I

The heart of the night is pierced !

With your flashing sword cut in
twain the tangle of doubt and feeble
desires 1

Victory I

Come, Implacable 1

Come, you who are terrible in your
whiteness.

O Light, your drum sounds in the
march of fire, and the red torch is
held on high ; death dies in a burst of
splendour 1

FRUIT-GATHERING 55

XL

O FIRE, my brother, I sing victory to
you.

You are the bright red image of
fearful freedom.

You swing your arms in the sky,
you sweep your impetuous fingers across
the harp -string, your dance music is
beautiful.

When my days are ended and the
gates are opened you will burn to ashes
this cordage of hands and feet.

My body will be one with you, my
heart will be caught in the whirls of
your frenzy, and the burning heat that
was my life will flash up and mingle
itself in your flame.

56 FRUIT-GATHERING

XLI

The Boatman is out crossing the wild
sea at night

The mast is aching because of its full
sails filled with the violent wind.

Stung with the night's fang the sky
falls upon the sea, poisoned with black
fear.

The waves dash their heads against
the dark unseen, and the Boatman is out
crossing the wild sea.

The Boatman is out, I know not for
what tryst, startUng the night with the
sudden white of his sails.

I know not at what shore, at last, he
lands to reach the silent courtyard
where the lamp is burning and to find
her who sits in the dust and waits.

FRUIT-GATHERING 57

What is the quest that makes his
boat care not for storm nor dark-
ness?

Is it heavy with gems and pearls ?

Ah, no, the Boatman brings with
him no treasure, but only a white rose
in his hand and a song on his lips.

It is for her who watches alone at
night with her lamp burning.

She dwells in the wayside hut

Her loose hair flies in the wind and
hides her eyes.

The storm shrieks through her
broken doors, the light flickers in her
earthen lamp flinging shadows on the
walls.

Through the howl of the winds she
hears him call her name, she whose
name is unknown.

It is long since the Boatman sailed.

It will be long before the day breaks
and he knocks at the door.

58 FRUIT-GATHERING

The drums will not be beaten and
none will know.

Only light shall fill the house, blessed
shall be the dust, and the heart glad.

All doubts shall vanish in silence
when the Boatman comes to the shore.

FRUIT-GATHERING 59

XLII

I CLING to this living raft, my body,
in the narrow stream of my earthly
years. I leave it when the crossing
is over.

And then ?

I do not know if the light there
and the darkness are the same.

The Unknown is the perpetual
freedom :

He is pitiless in his love.

He crushes the shell for the pearl,
dumb in the prison of the dark.

You muse and weep for the days
that are done, poor heart 1

Be glad that days are to come !

The hour strikes, O pilgrim I

It is time for you to take the
parting of the ways I

His face will be unveiled once again
and you shall meet.

60 FRUIT-GATHERING

XLIII

Over the relic of Lord Buddha
King Bimbisar built a shrine, a saluta-
tion in white marble.

There in the evening would come
all the brides and daughters of the
King's house to offer flowers and hght
lamps.

When the son became king in his
time he washed his father's creed
away with blood, and ht sacrificial
fires with its sacred books.

The autunrn day was dying.

The evening hour of worship was
near.

Shrimati, the queen's maid, devoted
to Lord Buddha, having bathed in holy
water, and decked the golden tray with
lamps and fresh white blossoms, silently

FRUIT-GATHERING 61

raised her dark eyes to the queen's
face.

The queen shuddered in fear and
said, " Do you not know, foolish girl,
that death is the penalty for whoever
brings worship to Buddha's shrine ?

" Such is the king's will."

Shrimati bowed to the queen, and
turning away from her door came and
stood before Amita, the newly wed
bride of the king's son.

A mirror of burnished gold on her
lap, the newly wed bride was braiding
her dark long tresses and painting the
red spot of good luck at the parting of
her hair.

Her hands trembled when she saw
the young maid, and she cried, " What
fearful peril would you bring me I
Leave me this instant."

Princess Shukla sat at the window

62 FRUIT-GATHERING

reading her book of romance by the
light of the setting sun.

She started when she saw at her
door the maid with the sacred offerings.

Her book fell down from her lap,
and she whispered in Shrimati's ears,
" Rush not to death, daring woman I "

Shrimati walked from door to door.

She raised her head and cried, "O
women of the king's house, hasten !

"The time for our Lord's worship
is come ! "

Some shut their doors in her face
and some reviled her.

The last gleam of daylight faded
from the bronze dome of the palace
tower.

Deep shadows settled in street
corners : the bustle of the city was
hushed : the gong at the temple of
Shiva announced the time of the
evening prayer.

FRUIT-GATHERING 68

In the dark of the autumn evening,
deep as a limpid lake, stars throbbed
with light, when the guards of the
palace garden were startled to see
through the trees a row of lamps
burning at the shrine of Buddha.

They ran with their swords un-
sheathed, crying, " Who are you,
foolish one, reckless of death?"

** I am Shrimati," replied a sweet
voice, *' the servant of Lord Buddha."

The next moment her heart's blood
coloured the cold marble with its red.

And in the still hour of stars died
the light of the last lamp of worship at
the foot of the shrine.

64 FRUIT-GATHERING

XLIV

The day that stands between you and
me makes her last bow of farewell.

The night draws her veil over her
face, and hides the one lamp burning in
my chamber.

Your dark servant comes noiselessly
and spreads the bridal carpet for you
to take your seat there alone with me
in the wordless silence till night is
done.

FRUIT-GATHERING 65

XLV

My night has passed on the bed of
sorrow, and my eyes are tired. My
heavy heart is not yet ready to meet
morning with its crowded joys.

Draw a veil over this naked light,
beckon aside from me this glaring flash
and dance of life.

Let thy mantle of tender darkness
cover me in its folds, and cover my
pain awhile from the pressure of the
world.

66 FRUIT-GATHERING

XLVI

The time is past when 1 could repay
her for all that I received.

Her night has found its morning and
thou hast taken her to thy arms : and
to thee 1 bring my gratitude and my
gifts that were for her.

For all hurts and offences to her I
come to thee for forgiveness.

I offer to thy service those flowers
of my love that remained in bud when
she waited for them to open.

FRUIT-GATHERING 67

XLVII

I FOUND a few old letters of mine
carefully hidden in her box — a few small
toys for her memory to play with.

With a timorous heart she tried to
steal these trifles from time's turbulent
stream, and said, "These are mine
onlyl"

Ah, there is no one now to claim
them, who can pay their price with
loving care, yet here they are stilL

Surely there is love in this world to
save her from utter loss, even like this
love of hers that saved these letters
with such fond care.

68 FRUIT-GATHERING

XLVIII

Bring beauty and order into my
forlorn life, woman, as you brought
them into my house when you lived.

Sweep away the dusty fragments of
the hours, fill the empty jars, and mend
aU that has been neglected.

Then open the inner door of the
shrine, light the candle, and let us meet
there in silence before our God.

FRUIT-GATHERING 69

XLIX

The pain was great when the strmgs
were being tuned, my Master I

Begin your music, and let me forget
the pain ; let me feel in beauty what
you had in your mind through those
pitiless days.

The waning night lingers at my
doors, let her take her leave in songs.

Pour your heart into my life strings,
my Master, in tunes that descend from
your stars.

70 FRUIT-GATHERING

In the lightning flash of a moment
I have seen the immensity of your
creation in my hfe — creation through
many a death from world to world.

I weep at my unworthiness when I
see my life in the hands of the unmean-
ing hours, — but when I see it in your
hands I know it is too precious to be
squandered among shadows.

FRUIT-GATHERING 71

LI

I KNOW that at the dim end of some
day the sun will bid me its last farewell.

Shepherds will play their pipes
beneath the banyan trees, and cattle
graze on the slope by the river, while
my days will pass into the dark.

This is my prayer, that I may know
before I leave why the earth called me
to her arms.

Why her night's silence spoke to me
of stars, and her daylight kissed my
thoughts into flower.

Before I go may I linger over my
last refrain, completing its music, may
the lamp be lit to see your face and the
wreath woven to crown you.

72 FRUIT-GATHERING

LII

What music is that in whose measure
the world is rocked ?

We laugh when it beats upon the
crest of life, we shrink in terror when
it returns into the dark.

But the play is the same that comes
and goes with the rhythm of the end-
less music.

You hide your treasure in the palm
of your hand, and we cry that we are
robbed.

But open and shut your palm as you
will, the gain and the loss are the same.

At the game you play with your
own self you lose and win at once.

FRUIT-GATHERING 78

LIII

I HAVE kissed this world with my
eyes and my limbs ; I have wrapt it
within my heart in numberless folds ;
I have flooded its days and nights
with thoughts till the world and my
life have grown one, — and I love my
life because I love the light of the sky
so enwoven with me.

If to leave this world be as real as
to love it — then there must be a mean-
ing in the meeting and the parting of
life.

If that love were deceived in death,
then the canker of this deceit would
eat into all things, and the stars would
shrivel and grow black.

74 FRUIT-GATHERING

LIV

The Cloud said to me, " I vanish " ;
the Night said, " I plunge into the
fiery dawn."

The Pain said, " I remain in deep
silence as his footprint."

" I die into the fulness," said my life
to me.

The Earth said, ** My lights kiss your
thoughts every moment."

" The days pass," Love said, " but I
wait for you."

Death said, " I ply the boat of your
life across the sea."

FRUIT-GATHERING 75

LV

TuLSiDAS, the poet, was wandering,
deep in thought, by the Ganges, in that
lonely spot where they burn their dead.

He found a woman sitting at the
feet of the corpse of her dead husband,
gaily dressed as for a wedding.

She rose as she saw him, bowed to
him, and said, "Permit me. Master, with
your blessing, to follow my husband to
heaven."

"Why such hurry, my daughter?"
asked Tulsidas. " Is not this earth also
His who made heaven ? "

"For heaven I do not long," said
the woman. " I want my husband."

Tulsidas smiled and said to her, "Go
back to your home, my child. Before
the month is over you will find your
husband."

76 FRUIT-GATHERING

The woman went back with glad
hope. Tulsidas came to her every day
and gave her high thoughts to think,
till her heart was filled to the brim
with divine love.

When the month was scarcely over,
her neighbours came to her, asking,
" Woman, have you found your
husband?"

The widow smiled and said, "I have."
Eagerly they asked, " Where is he ? "
" In my heart is my lord, one with
me," said the woman.

FRUIT-GATHERING 77

LVI

You came for a moment to my side
and touched me with the great mystery
of the woman that there is in the heart
of creation.

She who is ever returning to God
his own outflowing of sweetness ; she is
the ever fresh beauty and youth in
nature ; she dances in the bubbling
streams and sings in the morning hght ;
she with heaving waves suckles the
thirsty earth ; in her the Eternal One
breaks in two in a joy that no longer
may contain itself, and overflows in the
pain of love.

78 FRUIT-GATHERING

LVII

Who is she who dwells in my heart,
the woman forlorn for ever ?

I wooed her and I failed to win her.

I decked her with wreaths and sang
in her praise.

A smile shone in her face for a
moment, then it faded.

" I have no joy in thee,** she cried,
the woman in sorrow.

I bought her jewelled anklets and
fanned her with a fan gem-studded ; I
made her a bed on a bedstead of gold.

There flickered a gleam of gladness
in her eyes, then it died.

" I have no joy in these," she cried,
the woman in sorrow.

I seated her upon a car of triumph
and drove her from end to end of the
earth.

FRUIT-GATHERING 79

Conquered hearts bowed down at
her feet, and shouts of applause rang in
the sky.

Pride shone in her eyes for a moment,
then it was dimmed in tears.

" 1 have no joy in conquest," she
cried, the woman in sorrow.

I asked her, "Tell me whom do
you seek ? "

She only said, " I wait for him of the
unknown name."

Days pass by and she cries, " When
will my beloved come whom I know
not, and be known to me for ever ? "

80 FRUIT-GATHERING

LVIII

Yours is the light that breaks forth
from the dark, and the good that sprouts
from the cleft heart of strife.

Yours is the house that opens upon
the world, and the love that calls to
the battlefield.

Yours is the gift that still is a gain
when everything is a loss, and the life
that flows through the caverns of
death.

Yours is the heaven that lies in the
common dust, and you are there for me,
you are there for alL

FRUIT-GATHERING 81

LIX

When the weariness of the road is
upon me, and the thirst of the sultry
day ; when the ghostly hours of the
dusk throw their shadows across my
life, then I cry not for your voice only,
my friend, but for your touch.

There is an anguish in my heart for
the burden of its riches not given to
you.

Put out your hand through the
night, let me hold it and fill it and keep
it ; let me feel its touch along the
lengthening stretch of my loneliness.

82 FRUIT-GATHERING

LX

The odour cries in the bud, " Ah me,
the day departs, the happy day of spring,
and I am a prisoner in petals I "

Do not lose heart, timid thing !

Your bonds will burst, the bud will
open into flower, and when you die in
the fulness of life, even then the spring
will live on.

The odour pants and flutters within
the bud, crying, " Ah me, the hours pass
by, yet I do not know where 1 go, or
what it is I seek ! "

Do not lose heart, timid thing 1
The spring breeze has overheard
your desire, the day will not end before
you have fulfilled your being.

Dark is the future to her, and the

FRUIT-GATHERING 83

odour cries in despair, " Ah me, through

whose fault is my life so unmeaning ?
"Who can tell me, why I am at

all?"

Do not lose heart, timid thing I
The perfect dawn is near when you

will mingle your life with all life and

know at last your purpose.

84 FRUIT-GATHERING

LXI

She is still a child, my lord.

She runs about your palace and
plays, and tries to make of you a play-
thing as well.

She heeds not when her hair tumbles
down and her careless garment drags in
the dust.

She falls asleep when you speak to
her and answers not — and the flower
you give her in the morning slips to the
dust from her hands.

When the storm bursts and darkness
is over the sky she is sleepless ; her
dolls lie scattered on the earth and she
clings to you in terror.

She is afraid that she may fail in
service to you.

FRUIT-GATHERING 85

But with a smile you watch her at
her game.

You know her.

The child sitting in the dust is your
destined bride ; her play will be stilled
and deepened into love.

86 FRUIT-GATHERING

LXII

" What is there but the sky, O Sun,
that can hold thine image ? "

" I dream of thee, but to serve thee
I can never hope," the dewdrop wept
and said, " I am too small to take thee
unto me, great lord, and my life is all
tears."

" I illumine the limitless sky, yet I
can yield myself up to a tiny drop of
dew," thus the Sun said ; " I shall be-
come but a sparkle of light and fill you,
and your little life will be a laughing
orb."

FRUIT-GATHERING 87

LXIII

Not for me is the love that knows no
restraint, but like the foaming wine that
having burst its vessel in a moment
would run to waste.

Send me the love which is cool and
pure like your rain that blesses the
thirsty earth and fills the homely
earthen jars.

Send me the love that would soak
down into the centre of being, and from
there would spread like the unseen sap
through the branching tree of hfe, giving
birth to fruits and flowers.

Send me the love that keeps the
heart still with the fulness of peace.

88 FRUIT-GATHERING

LXIV

The sun had set on the western
margin of the river among the tangle of
the forest.

The hermit boys had brought the
cattle home, and sat round the fire to
listen to the master, Gautama, when a
strange boy came, and greeted him with
fruits and flowers, and, bowing low at
his feet, spoke in a bird-like voice —
" Lord, I have come to thee to be taken
into the path of the supreme Truth.

*' My name is Satyakama."

" Blessings be on thy head," said the
master.

" Of what clan art thou, my child ?
It is only fitting for a Brahmin to
aspire to the highest wisdom."

"Master," answered the boy, "I

FRUIT-GATHERING 89

know not of what clan I am. I shall
go and ask my mother."

Thus sajring, Satyakama took leave,
and wading across the shallow stream,
came back to his mother's hut, which
stood at the end of the sandy waste at
the edge of the sleeping village.

The lamp burnt dimly in the room,
and the mother stood at the door in the
dark waiting for her son's return.

She clasped him to her bosom, kissed
him on his hair, and asked him of his
errand to the master.

"What is the name of my father,
dear mother ? " asked the boy.

"It is only fitting for a Brahmin to
aspire to the highest wisdom, said Lord
Gautama to me."

The woman lowered her eyes, and
spoke in a whisper.

"In my youth I was poor and had

90 FRUIT-GATHERING

many masters. Thou didst come to thy
mother Jabala's arms, my darling, who
had no husband."

The early rays of the sun glistened
on the tree-tops of the forest hermitage.

The students, with their tangled hair
still wet with their morning bath, sat
under the ancient tree, before the
master.

There came Satyakama.

He bowed low at the feet of the
sage, and stood silent.

*' Tell me," the great teacher asked
him, " of what clan art thou ? "

" My lord," he answered, *' I know it
not. My mother said when I asked
her, ' I had served many masters in my
youth, and thou hadst come to thy
mother Jabala's arms, who had no
husband.' "

There rose a murmur like the angry
hum of bees disturbed in their hive;

FRUIT-GATHERING 91

and the students muttered at the
shameless insolence of that outcast.

Master Gautama rose from his seat,
stretched out his arms, took the boy
to his bosom, and said, " Best of all
Brahmins art thou, my child. Thou
hast the noblest heritage of truth."

92 FRUIT-GATHERING

LXV

May be there is one house m this
city where the gate opens for ever this
morning at the touch of the sunrise,
where the errand of the hght is fulfilled.
The flowers have opened in hedges
and gardens, and may be there is one
heart that has found in them this
morning the gift that has been on its
voyage from endless time.

FRUIT-GATHERING 98

LXVI

Listen, my heart, in his flute is the
music of the smell of wild flowers, of
the glistening leaves and gleaming
water, of shadows resonant with bees'
wings.

The flute steals his smile from my
friend's lips and spreads it over my life.

94 FRUIT-GATHERING

LXVII

You always stand alone beyond the
stream of my songs.

The waves of my tunes wash your
feet but I know not how to reach them.

This play of mine with you is a play
from afar.

It is the pain of separation that
melts into melody through my flute.
, I wait for the time when your boat
crosses over to my shore and you take
my flute into your own hands.

FRUIT-GATHERING 95

LXVIII

Suddenly the window of my heart
flew open this morning, the window that
looks out on your heart.

I wondered to see that the name by
which you know me is written in April
leaves and flowers, and I sat silent.

The curtain was blown away for a
moment between my songs and yours.

I found that your morning light was
full of my own mute songs unsung ; I
thought that I would learn them at
your feet — and I sat silent.

96 FRUIT-GATHERING

LXIX

You were in the centre of my heart,
therefore when my heart wandered she
never found you ; you hid yourself from
my loves and hopes till the last, for
you were always in them.

You were the inmost joy in the play
of my youth, and when I was too busy
with the play the joy was passed by.

You sang to me in the ecstasies of
my life and I forgot to sing to you.

FRUIT-GATHERING 97

LXX

When you hold your lamp in the
sky it throws its light on my face and
its shadow falls over you.

When I hold the lamp of love in
my heart its light falls on you and I
am left standing behind in the shadow.

98 FRUIT-GATHERING

LXXI

O THE waves, the sky-devouring waves,
glistening with light, dancing with life,
the waves of eddying joy, rushing for
ever.

The stars rock upon them, thoughts
of every tint are cast up out of the
deep and scattered on the beach of life.

Birth and death rise and fall with
their rhythm, and the sea-gull of my
heart spreads its wings crying in
delight.

FRUIT-GATHERING 99

LXXII

The joy ran from all the world to build
my body.

The lights of the skies kissed and
kissed her till she woke.

Flowers of hurrying summers sighed
in her breath and voices of winds and
water sang in her movements.

The passion of the tide of colours
in clouds and in forests flowed into her
life, and the music of all things caressed
her limbs into shape.

She is my bride, — she has lighted
her lamp in my house.

100 FRUIT-GATHERING

LXXIII

The spring with its leaves and flowers
has come into my body.

The bees hum there the morning
long, and the winds idly play with the
shadows.

A sweet fountain springs up from
the heart of my heart.

My eyes are washed with delight
like the dew -bathed morning, and life
is quivering in all my limbs like the
sounding strings of the lute.

Are you wandering alone by the shore
of my life, where the tide is in flood,
O lover of my endless days ?

Are my dreams flitting round you
like the moths with their many-coloured
wings ?

FRUIT-GATHERING 101

And are those your songs that are
echoing in the dark caves of my being ?

Who but you can hear the hum of
the crowded hours that sounds in my
veins to-day, the glad steps that dance
in my breast, the clamour of the restless
life beating its wings in my body ?

102 FRUIT-GATHERING

LXXIV

My bonds are cut, my debts are
paid, my door has been opened, I go
everywhere.

They crouch in their comer and
weave their web of pale hours, they
count their coins sitting in the dust
and call me back.

But my sword is forged, my armour
is put on, my horse is eager to run.
I shall win my kingdom.

FRUIT-GATHERING 103

LXXV

It was only the other day that I
came to your earth, naked and name-
less, with a wailing cry.

To-day my voice is glad, while you,
my lord, stand aside to make room
that I may fill my life.

Even when I bring you my songs
for an offering 1 have the secret hope
that men will come and love me for
them.

You love to discover that I love this
world where you have brought me.

104 FRUIT-GATHERING

LXXVI

Timidly I cowered in the shadow of
safety, but now, when the surge of joy
carries my heart upon its crest, my
heart clings to the cruel rock of its
trouble.

I sat alone in a comer of my house
thinking it too narrow for any guest,
but now when its door is flung open by
an unbidden joy I find there is room for
thee and for all the world.

I walked upon tiptoe, carefiil of my
person, perfumed, and adorned — but
now when a glad whirlwind has over-
thrown me in the dust I laugh and roll
on the earth at thy feet like a child.

FRUIT-GATHERING 105

LXXVII

The world is yours at once and for
ever.

And because you have no want, my
king, ypu have no pleasure in your
wealth.

It is as though it were naught.

Therefore through slow time you
give me what is yours, and ceaselessly
win your kingdom in me.

Day after day you buy your sunrise
from my heart, and you find your love
carven into the image of my life.

106 FRUIT-GATHERING

LXXVIII

To the birds you gave songs, the
birds gave you songs in return.

You gave me only voice, yet asked
for more, and I sing.

You made your winds light and they
are fleet in their service. You burdened
my hands that I myself may lighten
them, and at last, gain unburdened
freedom for your service.

You created your Earth filling its
shadows with fragments of light.

There you paused ; you left me
empty-handed in the dust to create
your heaven.

To all things else you give ; from me
you ask.

The harvest of my life ripens in the
sun and the shower till I reap more
than you sowed, gladdening your heart,
O Master of the golden granary.

FRUIT-GATHERING 107

LXXIX

Let me not pray to be sheltered from
dangers but to be fearless in facing
them.

Let me not beg for the stilling of
my pain but for the heart to conquer it.

Let me not look for allies in life's
battlefield but to my own strength.

Let me not crave in anxious fear to
be saved but hope for the patience to
win my freedom.

Grant me that I may not be a
coward, feeling your mercy in my
success alone ; but let me find the grasp
of your hand in my failure.

108 FRUIT-GATHERING

LXXX

You did not know yourself when
you dwelt alone, and there was no
crying of an errand when the wind ran
from the hither to the farther shore.

I came and you woke, and the skies
blossomed with lights.

You made me open in many flowers ;
rocked me in the cradles of many forms;
hid me in death and found me again in
Ufe.

I came and your heart heaved ; pain
came to you and joy.

You touched me and tingled into
love.

But in my eyes there is a film of
shame and in my breast a flicker of

FRUIT-GATHERING 109

fear ; my face is veiled and I weep
when I cannot see you.

Yet I know the endless thirst in
your heart for sight of me, the thirst
that cries at my door in the repeated
knockings of sunrise.

110 FRUIT-GATHERING

LXXXI

You, in your timeless watch, listen to
my approaching steps, while your glad-
ness gathers in the morning twilight
and breaks in the burst of light

The nearer I draw to you the deeper
grows the fervour in the dance of the
sea.

Your world is a branching spray of
light filling your hands, but your heaven
is in my secret heart ; it slowly opens
its buds in shy love.

FRUIT-GATHERING 111

LXXXII

1 WILL utter your name, sitting alone
among the shadows of my silent
thoughts.

I will utter it without words, I will
utter it without purpose.

For I am like a child that calls its
mother an hundred times, glad that it
can say " Mother."

112 FRUIT-GATHEKING

LXXXIII

I FEEL that all the stars shine in me.

The world breaks into my life like
a flood.

The flowers blossom in my body.

All the youthfulness of land and
water smokes like an incense in my
heart ; and the breath of all things plays
on my thoughts as on a flute.

II

When the world sleeps I come to
your door.

The stars are silent, and I am afraid
to sing.

I wait and watch, till your shadow

FRUIT-GATHERING 113

passes by the balcony of night and I
return with a full heart.

Then in the morning I sing by the
roadside ;

The flowers in the hedge give me
answer and the morning air listens,

The travellers suddenly stop and
look in my face, thinking I have called
them by their names.

lU

Keep me at your door ever attending
to your wishes, and let me go about in
your Kingdom accepting your call.

Let me not sink and disappear in
the depth of langour.

Let not my life be worn out to
tatters by penury of waste.

Let not those doubts encompass me,

— the dust of distractions.

I

114 FRUIT-GATHERING

Let me not pursue many paths to
gather many things.

Let me not bend my heart to the
yoke of the many.

Let me hold my head high in the
courage and pride of being your servant

FRUIT-GATHERING 115

LXXXIV

THE OARSMEN

Do you hear the tumult of death afar,
The call midst the fire -floods and

poisonous clouds
— The Captain's call to the steersman

to turn the ship to an unnamed

shore,
For that time is over — the stagnant

time in the port —
Where the same old merchandise is

bought and sold in an endless

round,
Where dead things drift in the ex-
haustion and emptiness of truth.

They wake up in sudden fear and ask,
" Comrades, what hour has struck ?
When shall the dawn begin ? " .

116 FRUIT-GATHERING

The clouds have blotted away the
stars —

Who is there then can see the beckon-
ing finger of the day ?

They run out with oars in hand, the
beds are emptied, the mother
prays, the wife watches by the
door;

There is a wail of parting that rises to
the sky,

And there is the Captain's voice in
the dark :

"Come, sailors, for the time in the
harbour is over I "

All the black evils in the world have

overflowed their banks.
Yet, oarsmen, take your places with the

blessing of sorrow in your souls !
Whom do you blame, brothers ? Bow

your heads down 1
The sin has been yours and ours.

FRUIT-GATHERING 117

The heat growing in the heart of God
for ages —

The cowardice of the weak, the arro-
gance of the strong, the greed of
fat prosperity, the rancour of the
wronged, pride of race, and insult
to man —

Has burst God's peace, raging in storm.

Like a ripe pod, let the tempest break
its heart into pieces, scattering
thunders.

Stop your bluster of dispraise and of
self-praise.

And with the calm of silent prayer on
your foreheads sail to that un-
named shore.

We have known sins and evils every
day and death we have known ;

They pass over our world like clouds
mocking us with their transient
lightning laughter.

118 FRUIT-GATHERING

Suddenly they have stopped, become a
prodigy,

And men must stand before them
saying:

" We do not fear you, O Monster ! for
we have lived every day by con-
quering you,

" And we die with the faith that Peace
is true, and Good is true, and true
is the eternal One I "

If the Deathless dwell not in the heart

of death.
If glad wisdom bloom not bursting the

sheath of sorrow,
If sin do not die of its own revealment.
If pride break not under its load of

decorations,
Then whence comes the hope that

drives these men from their homes

like stars rushing to their death in

the morning light ?

FRUIT-GATHERING 119

Shall the value of the martyrs' blood
and mothers' tears be utterly lost
in the dust of the earth, not buying
Heaven with their price ?

And when Man bursts his mortal
bounds, is not the Boundless re-
vealed that moment ?

120 FRUIT-GATHERING

LXXXV

THE SONG OF THE
DEFEATED

My Master has bid me while I stand at
the roadside, to sing the song of Defeat,
for that is the bride whom He woos in
secret.

She has put on the dark veil, hiding
her face from the crowd, but the jewel
glows on her breast in the dark.

She is forsaken of the day, and God's
night is waiting for her with its lamps
lighted and flowers wet with dew.

She is silent with her eyes down-
cast ; she has left her home behind her,
from her home has come that wailing in
the wind.

FRUIT-GATHERING 121

But the stars are singing the love-
song of the eternal to a face sweet
with shame and suffering.

The door has been opened in the
lonely chamber, the call has sounded,
and the heart of the darkness throbs
with awe because of the coming tryst.

122 FRUIT-GATHERING

LXXXVI

THANKSGIVING

Those who walk on the path of pride
crushing the lowly life under their
tread, covering the tender green of the
earth with their footprints in blood ;

Let them rejoice, and thank thee,
Lord, for the day is theirs.

But I am thankful that my lot lies
with the humble who suffer and bear
the burden of power, and hide their
faces and stifle their sobs in the dark.

For every throb of their pain has
pulsed in the secret depth of thy night,
and every insult has been gathered into
thy great silence.

FRUIT-GATHERING 123

And the morrow is theirs.

O Sun, rise upon the bleeding hearts
blossoming in flowers of the morning,
and the torchlight revelry of pride
shrunken to ashes.

THE END

Printtdby R. & R. Clark, I.imitsd, Edinburik.

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