Sri Aurobindo

Collected Poems

CWSA.- Volume 2

Part Two. Baroda
Short Poems from Manuscripts, c. 1900 – 1901

World’s delight

World’s delight, spring’s sweetness, music’s charm

Lie within my arm.

Earth that is and heaven to come are here with me

Mastered on my knee.

Open thy red petals, shrinking rose,

And thy heart disclose.

Pant thy fragrance up to me, O my delight,

All the perfumed night.

Thou possessed and I possessing, earth

Opened for our mirth.

Flowers dropping on us from delighted trees,

Revels of the breeze,

All for me because I hold their Circe white,

Queen of their delight.

Wanton, thou shalt know at last a chain

Golden to restrain.

Not a minute of thee shall escape my kiss,

Captive made to bliss,

Not a wandering breath but love shall seize

With his ecstasies,

All thy body be a glorious happy lyre

Played on by desire

And thy soul shall be my absolute kingdom still

To misrule at will.

Wast thou hoping to escape at last?

Nay, I held thee fast.

Thou shalt know what love is, all his bliss and pain,

Fondling and disdain.

Jealousy and joy shall seize on thee by turns

Till thy whole heart burns.

I will learn now all that is to know

In this golden show.

I will gather all there are¹ of sweets to take

In this scented brake.

All thy² soul’s reserves of honied shame

Seized as by a flame

Shall be mine and falter naked to the light

And discovered quite.

I will burn thee up as with a fire

Of unquenched desire.

I will ravage like a conqueror all thy soul

And annex the whole.

To escape from joys too fierce that burn

Thou in vain shalt turn.

Puissant Fate shall rescue not thy soul from mine

Nor decree divine

Nor shall Death release thy hunted heart from fear;

I shall still be near.

Earlier edition of this work: Sri Aurobindo Birth Century Library: Set in 30 volumes.- Volume 27.- Supplement.- Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Asram, 1972.- 511 p.

¹ 1972 ed. SABCL, vol.27: is

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² 1972 ed. SABCL, vol.27: the

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