Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
by narrow domestic walls;
by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms toward perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into
the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening
thought and action—
thought and action—
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country
awake.
awake.
- Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) Indian poet, playwright and essayist;
Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913
Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913
(I used this same Tinypic.com image of the American flag in a previous post but chose to repeat it here. It's my favorite photo of the flag ever.)
8 comments:
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
by narrow domestic walls - i like that.
very evocative piece this.
WOWSERS!
This is so lyrical, so moving...I'm going to print it out. I think my Pax Christi(Peace & Social Justice group) would love this!
Question: May I post this at my
www.practicewhatyoupeace.blogspot.com/
site? I will of course give credit to you, Lydia, and your Writerquake.
btw, I posted a couple of responses to your comments at my Blog! Peace, kid.
DFTP,
Evocative, yes. Universal also.
Lisa,
I'm happy it rings for you! Absolutely, go on and post it. I believe that Tagore's work should be shared whenever possible.
I'm popping over to your blog now.
Lovely poem. Something to really think about.
Lisa
Raccoon Lisa,
I'm happy you liked the poem. It really is food for thought.
Quite an adequate quote considering the present state of affairs.
Hi Lydia,
I'm in the process of catching up with all your posts (again) and this one really struck me. You always seem to find the most inspiring poems and videos. (I'll never forget those PBS videos on Jane Elliot that you had posted on your blog's sidebar!)
The picture of the flag compliments the spirit of this poem so well.
Hopefully those in our country who have not yet 'awoken' will do so before voting in the election this year.
And even though I myself can't vote, I proudly wear an Obama '08 pin on my backpack (:
Carlos,
Yes, indeed it is.Our news reports tonight about the economic conditions in Europe made me think of your comment.
Rachael,
Thanks so much for your kind remarks! Your comment about that PBS widget made me want to try to find it again:)
I'm smiling envisioning your backpack. You know that recent post you had with the contents of your bag?.....something similar with your backpack would be interesting too.
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