Mother, I shall weave a chain of pearls for thy neck with my tears of sorrow (song 83) by Rabindranath Tagore (poem, summary & analysis)

 

Mother, I shall weave a chain of pearls for thy neck with my tears of sorrow (song 83) by Rabindranath Tagore (poem, summary & analysis) 

Mother, I shall weave a chain of pearls for thy neck with my tears of sorrow.

The stars have wrought their anklets of light to deck thy feet, but mine will hang upon thy breast.

Wealth and fame come from thee and it is for thee to give or to withhold them. But this my sorrow is absolutely mine own, and when I bring it to thee as my offering thou rewardest me with thy grace.

Mother, I shall weave a chain of pearls for thy neck with my tears of sorrow.

 

Summary

The poem says that suffering and being sorry for our mistakes help to clean and save our soul. The poet talks to God like a loving mother and asks to put pure, white pearls—his tears of sadness—around her neck. The poet feels the need to say sorry to God for his sins. He describes God as beautiful and shining with heavenly light, but this light also touches his mother’s feet. The poet believes his chain of tears and sorrow shines even brighter because they come from true repentance. He is sure that God, as his mother, will wear these tears like a necklace.

God is pleased when His children feel sorry for their mistakes and repent. He doesn’t care much about gifts of money or fame. Since God owns all wealth, He can give it to people if He wants, or He can keep it. The most precious gift we can offer to God is the tears of a hurting soul. Suffering cleans the soul, and offering a pure soul brings blessings to people.

 

Critical Analysis

The poet prays to God, the Mother, the Creator, with tears of regret for his mistakes. He makes a necklace for her to show his sorrow. The Mother is always happy when her child is sorry for what he has done wrong and asks for nothing else. When a person feels truly sorry, God's kindness will come to them automatically.

The feeling in Eliot's poem Ash Wednesday is very similar.

"Blessed sister, holy mother, spirit of the fountain, spirit of the garden". He calls the divine spirit as his mother as Tagore does, and prays her "Suffer me not to be separated And let my cry come unto thee".