When The Heart Is Hard
by
Rabindranath Tagore
(Text & Summary)
In this poem, Tagore prays God for divine
enlightenment and inspiration. He compares himself to hard and parched land and
God's mercy to a shower of rain that brings relief to a drought affected area. He
compares God's grace to a burst of song that instantly brings a smile and
happiness to man. Tagore glorifies God as that supreme power that can bring peace
and rest even in the midst of loud noisy sounds and violet commotion.
The song
is a prayer of needy man who prays for the warmth and care of his Father and
whose parched-up heart is craving for spiritual courage and mind needs the
peace.
When The Heart Is Hard
When
the heart is hard and parched up, come upon me with a shower of mercy.
When
grace is lost from life, come with a burst of song.
When
tumultuous work raises its din on all sides shutting me out from beyond, come
to me, my lord of silence, with thy peace and rest.
When
my beggarly heart sits crouched, shut up in a corner, break open the door, my
king, and come with the ceremony of a king.
When
desire blinds the mind with delusion and dust, thou holy one, thou wakeful,
come with thy light and thy thunder.
This
is the Gitanjali Poem no. 39. In this poem, Tagore prays for divine inspiration
and asks God to bless him and to shower his love upon him. He says, that when
his heart becomes hard, cruel and dry of all charm, he calls upon God to come
with a song as an inspiration. He prays God for His silence, peace and rest when
he is disturbed by loud annoying noises on all sides.
Tagore
says, that when he sits alone, locked up in a corner then he calls upon God to
come to him like a king. Tagore calls upon God to come to him with thunder and lightning
and wake him up when his worldly desires had thrown him into hazy confusion.
The thunder would warn the poet and then His lightening would enlighten the
poet.
Comments