The lotus | On the day when the lotus bloomed

by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

Translation by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

On the day when the lotus bloomed

Language: English after the Bangla (Bengali)

Our translations: FRE GER

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.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 20, first published 1912 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 20, first published 1912 [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Jeanne M. Boyd (1890 - 1968), "On the day when the lotus bloomed", 1919 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Nicholas Douty (1870 - 1955), "The lotus", 1917 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2010-11-03
Line count: 17
Word count: 109