Pluck this little flower by Rabindranath Tagore (Text & Summary)

 

Pluck this little flower

by Rabindranath Tagore

(Text & Summary)

 

Pluck this little flower

Pluck this little flower and take it, delay not!

I fear lest it droop

and drop into the dust.

It may not find a place in thy garland,

but honour it

with a touch of pain from thy hand and pluck it.

I fear lest the day end

before I am aware,

and the time of offering go by.

Though its colour be not deep

and its smell be faint,

use this flower in thy service

and pluck it while there is time.

 

Summary

In this poem, Tagore conveys his distress and longing for inner transformation. He prays God to pluck this little flower and take it, to relieve him from the cycle of birth and death once for all without any further delay and to take him into His eternal bliss of existence before he droops, turns old and dies.

Tagore says, that he may not be ready for such a big leap yet, and requests God to take him and relieve his soul with His grace. The poet fears that before he becomes aware, transforms and realizes truth, his life might end. The time that he has left for living is all the time he has to offer. So, he requests God, to give him truth before he dies.

Tagore also says that ‘its colour may not be deep’. He wants to say, that his spirit may not be deep, mature and conscious, but still, he pleads God to take him into the eternal bliss and relieve him from the cycle of birth and death.