Plunge, hope, and rise—poetic perspectives

I recently read lyrical poems by Aurobindo, an Indian freedom fighter, philosopher, and writer. Some of his verses capture deep views on life, and you can almost live through the emotional cycle of progress.

The fall

But suddenly there soared a dateless cry,
Deep as Night, imperishable as Time;
It seemed Death’s dire appeal to Eternity,
Earth’s outcry to the limitless Sublime.

– The Life Heavens

Gathering hope

The day ends lost in a stretch of even,
A long road trod — and the little farther.
Now the waste-land, now the silence;
A blank dark wall, and behind it heaven.

– Journey’s End

The rise

Who art thou that camest
Bearing the occult Name,
Wings of regal darkness,
Eyes of an unborn flame?

Like the august uprising
Of a forgotten sun
Out of the caverned midnight
Fire-trails of wonder run.

Captured the heart renouncing
Tautness of passion-worn strings
Allows the wide-wayed sweetness
Of free supernal things.

– Who art thou that camest

I happened to pick up this book during my recent solo trip to Puducherry. It was well worth it.