Part 3 (2/2)
”O my beloved,--thou art free!
Sleep which had bound thee fast, hath left Thine eyelids. Try thyself to be!
For late of every sense bereft Thou seemedst in a rigid trance; And if thou canst, my love, arise, Regard the night, the dark expanse Spread out before us, and the skies.”
Supported by her, looked he long Upon the landscape dim outspread, And like some old remembered song The past came back,--a tangled thread.
”I had a pain, as if an asp Gnawed in my brain, and there I lay Silent, for oh! I could but gasp, Till someone came that bore away My spirit into lands unknown: Thou, dear, who watchedst beside me,--say Was it a dream from elfland blown, Or very truth,--my doubts to stay.”
”O Love, look round,--how strange and dread The shadows of the high trees fall, Homeward our path now let us tread, To-morrow I shall tell thee all.
”Arise! Be strong! Gird up thy loins!
Think of our parents, dearest friend!
The solemn darkness haste enjoins, Not likely is it soon to end.
Hark! Jackals still at distance howl, The day, long, long will not appear, Lo, wild fierce eyes through bushes scowl, Summon thy courage, lest I fear.
Was that the tiger's sullen growl?
What means this rush of many feet?
Can creatures wild so near us prowl?
Rise up, and hasten homewards, sweet!”
He rose, but could not find the track, And then, too well, Savitri knew His wonted force had not come back.
She made a fire, and from the dew Essayed to shelter him. At last He nearly was himself again,-- Then vividly rose all the past, And with the past, new fear and pain.
”What anguish must my parents feel Who wait for me the livelong hours!
Their sore wound let us haste to heal Before it festers, past our powers:
”For broken-hearted, they may die!
Oh hasten dear,--now I am strong, No more I suffer, let us fly, Ah me! each minute seems so long.
They told me once, they could not live Without me, in their feeble age, Their food and water I must give And help them in the last sad stage Of earthly life, and that Beyond In which a son can help by rites.
Oh what a love is theirs--how fond!
Whom now Despair, perhaps, benights.
”Infirm herself, my mother dear Now guides, methinks, the tottering feet Of my blind father, for they hear And hasten eagerly to meet Our fancied steps. O faithful wife Let us on wings fly back again, Upon their safety hangs my life!”
He tried his feelings to restrain, But like some river swelling high They swept their barriers weak and vain, Sudden there burst a fearful cry, Then followed tears,--like autumn rain.
Hus.h.!.+ Hark, a sweet voice rises clear!
A voice of earnestness intense, ”If I have wors.h.i.+pped Thee in fear And duly paid with reverence The solemn sacrifices,--hear!
Send consolation, and thy peace Eternal, to our parents dear, That their anxieties may cease.
Oh, ever hath I loved Thy truth, Therefore on Thee I dare to call, Help us, this night, and them, for sooth Without thy help, we perish all.”
She took in hers Satyavan's hand, She gently wiped his falling tears, ”This weakness, Love, I understand!
Courage!” She smiled away his fears.
”Now we shall go, for thou art strong.”
She helped him rise up by her side And led him like a child along, He, wistfully the basket eyed Laden with fruit and flowers. ”Not now, To-morrow we shall fetch it hence.”
And so, she hung it on a bough, ”I'll bear thy saw for our defence.”
In one fair hand the saw she took, The other with a charming grace She twined around him, and her look She turned upwards to his face.
Thus aiding him she felt anew His bosom beat against her own-- More firm his step, more clear his view, More self-possessed his words and tone Became, as swift the minutes past, And now the pathway he discerns, And 'neath the trees, they hurry fast, For Hope's fair light before them burns.
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