SAROJINI NAIDU .
DIRGE .
W
HAT
longer
hath
she
need
of
loveliness
"
Whom
Death
hath
parted
from
her
lord's
caress
?
Of glimmering
robes
like
rainbow -tangled
mist,
Of gleaming
glass
or
jewels
on her wrist ,
Blossoms
or
fillet-pearls
to deck
her head ,
Or jasmine garlands
to
adorn
her bed
?
Put by
the mirror of her bridal days
.
.
.
Why
needs
she
now
its
counsel
or
its
praise
,
Or
happy
symbol
of
the
henna
leaf
For
hands
that know
the
comradeship
of
grief
,
Red
spices
for
her lips that drink
of
sighs
,
Or black
collyrium
for her
weeping
eyes
?
Shatter her
shining
bracelets
,
break
the
string
Threading
the mystic
marriage
beads
that
cling
Loth
to
desert
a
sobbing
throat
so
sweet
,
Unbind
the
golden
anklets
on
her
feet
Divest
her
of
her
azure
veils
and
cloud
Her
living
beauty
in
a
living
shroud
.
Nay
,
let her
be
!
.
.
.
what comfort
can
we give
For
joy
so
frail
,
for
hope
so
fugitive
?
The
yearning
pain
of
unfulfilled
delight
,
The moonless
vigils
of
her
lonely
night
?
For
the abnormal
anguish
of
her tears
,
And
flowering
springs that mock
her
empty
years
?
166