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In desperate hope I go and search for her in all the corners of my room; I find her not.
My house is small and what once has gone from it can never be regained. But infinite is thy mansion, my lord, and seeking her I have come to thy door. I stand under the golden canopy of thine evening sky and I lift my eager eyes to thy face.
I have come to the brink of eternity from which nothing can vanish - no hope, no happiness, no vision of a face seen through tears.
Oh, dip my emptied life into that ocean, plunge it into the deepest fullness.
Let me for once feel that lost sweet touch in the allness of the universe.
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| Gitanjali Poem no. 87 |
Summary
The search for his beloved or his other self brings the poet to the sea of eternity where he prays to be merged for wholeness of the fulfilment.
The poet visualizes himself as consisting of two selves and he is looking for one part of himself or it can be interpreted as if he is looking for his beloved. He is in desperate hope and searching her in the corners of his small room. The house is here compared to the earth from where once a thing gone can never be retrieved. He has lost his beloved and is unable to find her. He believes that he would meet her in the infinite abode of God. He stands under the blue zenith and looks at the stars shining overhead. There is the eternal above, and all hopes and desires, all happiness and all beloved faces that are lost in this world are to be met with there. Therefore he prays to God to dip his vacant life into that ocean of eternity, to plunge it into its deepest fullness, so that he may once again enjoy the sweet touch of his beloved and see her beautiful face.
Critical Analysis
The poet is full of grief and hope. Grief of seperation from his beloved and hope of finding her in the profound sea of eternity. The plea to merge with this soul is being stressed here. The words "The golden canopy"., "the evening sky", and "the eager eyes" add to the sheer beauty of the lyric.
Annotations
Desperate: without hope. Her: poet's beloved or his other self. Mansion: palace. Seeking: looking for. Canopy: the rounded roof; tent. Plunge: immerse, dip Allness: unity; owners.