Gitanjali

By Rabindranath Tagore

On the day when the lotus bloomed, alas, my mind was straying,

And I knew it not. My basket was empty and the flower remained

Unheeded. 

Only now and again a sadness fell upon me, and I started up from

My dream and felt a sweet trace of a strange fragrance in the south

Wind. 

That vague sweetness made my heart ache with longing and it

Seemed to me that is was the eager breath of the summer seeking

For its completion. 

I knew not then that it was so near, that it was mine, and that

This perfect sweetness had blossomed in the depth of my own heart.