Religious
Poem
Where Dost Thou Stand Behind
by Rabindranath Tagore
In this poem, the poet is a poor bride who
waits for her Prince, God to come and love her. The poem is an intensely
passionate expression of the poet's love and devotion for God. The poet
expresses his deep faith, that he shall one day achieve salvation and be
blessed.
Where Dost Thou Stand Behind
Where
dost thou stand behind them all, my lover, hiding thyself in the shadows? They
push thee and pass thee by on the dusty road, taking thee for naught. I wait
here weary hours spreading my offerings for thee, while passersby come and take
my flowers, one by one, and my basket is nearly empty.
The
morning time is past, and the noon. In the shade of evening my eyes are drowsy
with sleep. Men going home glance at me and smile and fill me with shame. I sit
like a beggar maid, drawing my skirt over my face, and when they ask me, what
it is I want, I drop my eyes and answer them not.
Oh,
how, indeed, could I tell them that for thee I wait, and that thou hast
promised to come. How could I utter for shame that I keep for my dowry this
poverty. Ah, I hug this pride in the secret of my heart.
I
sit on the grass and gaze upon the sky and dream of the sudden splendour of thy
coming--all the lights ablaze, golden pennons flying over thy car, and they at
the roadside standing agape, when they see thee come down from thy seat to
raise me from the dust, and set at thy side this ragged beggar girl a-tremble
with shame and pride, like a creeper in a summer breeze.
But
time glides on and still no sound of the wheels of thy chariot. Many a
procession passes by with noise and shouts and glamour of glory. Is it only
thou who wouldst stand in the shadow silent and behind them all? And only I who
would wait and weep and wear out my heart in vain longing?
