Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

Volume 1. 1936

Letter ID: 1552

Sri Aurobindo — Nirodbaran Talukdar

February 17, 1936

Mulshankar is all right. He is trying to walk a little. Found a swelling in his right foot. Shall I ask Prasanna to tidy his bed?

But what is all this? You are all determined to have him here on the 20th whether he is fit or not? What is the idea behind all this haste? Has not the Mother said he should come only if he can walk and do the most necessary things for himself?

Here is my attempt at the use of anapaests in the iambic metre:

“The dismal clouds which haunted my days and night

Dissolve into a transparently wide

Calmness, by the ascent on the black height,

Of thy moon increasing in a swelling tide.”

It is stressed transparent, not transparent. What a howler! It makes me “drop into poetry” – thus

Sir, you seem apparently ignorant

That parent is the trick and not parent.

And yet the stress transpires transparently

And is apparent to both ear and eye.

So you compare and do not compare things;

Your soul prepares, not prepares heavenly wings.

[A separate note:]

Please have a look at the poem and give some comments.

Noted with comments (poetic and prosaic) on the poem itself.