Religious
Poem
Languor is Upon Your Heart
by Rabindranath Tagore
This
is the 55th poem of ‘Gitanjali’. In the poem, Tagore is really good
at explaining how people feel when they're in love. When two people are in
love, it feels like their love is everything in the whole world. Being in love
feels much more amazing and happier than going through all the difficult, sad,
and tiring steps to be together.
Languor is Upon Your Heart
Languor
is upon your heart and the slumber is still on your eyes.
Has
not the word come to you that the flower is reigning in splendour among thorns?
Wake, oh awaken! Let not the time pass in vain!
At
the end of the stony path, in the country of virgin solitude my friend is
sitting all alone. Deceive him not. Wake, oh awaken!
What
if the sky pants and trembles with the heat of the midday sun - what if the
burning sand spreads its mantle of thirst -
Is
there no joy in the deep of your heart? At every footfall of yours, will not
the harp of the road break out in sweet music of pain?
Summary
In
the song, the main idea is about the incredible happiness that comes from being
united with a divine being. Even though the path to this divine happiness may
be difficult, it is also very enjoyable.
The
poet or singer, who is deeply in love with the divine, is feeling lazy and
sleepy. Meanwhile, the divine lover is waiting alone at the end of a rocky
path. A friend of the poet tells him that his lover is waiting for him there,
just like a beautiful flower growing among thorns. The friend urges the poet
not to delay, even if the weather is hot and the ground is burning.
The
friend convinces the poet that even though the journey towards spiritual bliss
may be challenging, the destination is magnificent and brings immense joy. He
says that as the poet goes to meet the divine lover, the very road will fill
the air with beautiful music. It will be a sweet and melodious music that can
only come from enduring the heat and difficulties along the way.
