23
"THE SONG OF THE DEFEATED."
My Master has asked of me to stand at
the roadside of retreat and sing the song
of the Defeated,
For she is the bride whom He woos in
secret.
She has put on the dark veil, hiding her
face from the crowd, the fewel glowing
in her breast in the dark.
She is forsaken of the day, and God's
night is waiting for her with its lamps
lighted and flowers wet with dew.
She is silent with her eyes downcast;
she has left her home behind her, from
where comes the wailing in the wind.
But the stars are singing the love song
of the eternal to her whose face is sweet
with shame and  suffering.
The door has been opened in the lonely
chamber, the call has come;
And the heart of the darkness throbs
with the awe of the expectant tryst.
—Rabindranath Tagofe.
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(This poem is written on Korea by the famous
Hindu poet and teacher upon the request of Mr.
Choy Nam Sun, the persistent Korean publicist
and leader among Koreans. Mr. Tagore shows
through this poem undoubtedly his heart-felt sympathy to Korea, as well as his keen insight into
the real situation of her, in shame and in disgrace.)
This poem was written was written in 1918 on Korea by the
famous Hindu poet and teacher uprm the request of Choy Nam
Sun, the profound Korean scholar and author.