I Must Launch Out My Boat
by
Rabindra Nath Tagore
(Text & Summary)
This lyric talks about the poet's longing for
his union with God and about his waiting for death. Tagore says he must start
his voyage soon. He is sorry for his lazy hours on the shore. The poet then
says that spring has come, flowered and gone. The poet's youth has gone. He is
like those wilted flowers, that cannot be offered in prayer. He is moving
towards death and then a union with God.
I Must Launch Out My Boat
I
must launch out my boat. The languid hours pass by on the shore ⎯ Alas for me!
The
spring has done its flowering and taken leave. And now with the burden of faded
futile flowers I wait and linger.
The
waves have become clamorous, and upon the bank in the shady lane the yellow leaves
flutter and fall.
What
emptiness do you gaze upon!
Do
you not feel a thrill passing through the air with the notes of the far away
song floating from the other shore?
Summary
In
this poem Tagore presents a picture of a man/himself waiting to go to God's
presence. He has been waiting for this moment of union for a long time. On the
shore, he was waiting to launch his boat. The soul has to cross the sea of
eternity to reach God. The poet compares himself to a flower who having
flowered in spring is now faded and can no longer be used in worship. He is now
old and about to die and has not yet started his voyage. He knows that his death
and divine union with God is near because the waves are rising and making
noises which means it is the right time for him to launch his boat. Yellow
leaves falling down indicate the autumn of his life. The waves are calling him.
Tagore asks himself to launch his boat and to start his journey soon. He asks
himself if he doesn't feel a thrill of joy upon hearing the song calling him
from the distant other shore.
0 Comments