VILLAGE SONG by Sarojini Naidu
Full are my pitchers and far to carry,
Lone is the way and long,
Why, O why was I tempted to tarry
Lured by the boatmen’s song?
Swiftly the shadows of night are falling,
Hear, O hear, is the white crane calling,
Is it the wild owl’s cry?
There are no tender moonbeams to light me,
If in the darkness a serpent should bite me,
Or if an evil spirit should smite me,
Ram Re Ram! I shall die.
My brother will murmur, ‘Why doth she linger?’
My mother will wait and weep,
Saying, ‘O safe may the great gods bring her,
The Jamuna’s waters are deep…’
The Jamuna’s waters rush by so quickly,
The shadows of evening gather so thickly,
Like black birds in the sky…
O! if the storm breaks, what will betide me?
Safe from the lightning where shall I hide me?
Unless Thou succor my footsteps and guide me,
Ram Re Ram! I shall die.
