Poem

If They Answer Not 

          If they answer not to thy call, walk alone. 

          If they are afraid and    

          Cower mutely against the wall          

          O thou of evil luck        

          Open thy mind and speak out alone.

         

          If they turn away and desert   

          You while crossing the desert,

          O thou of evil luck        

          Trample the thorns under your tread,       

          And along the blood stained track, walk alone.   

         

          If they do not hold up the light when the   

          Night is troubled by storms    

          Of thou of evil luck,      

          With the thunder-flame of pain ignite your heart

          And let it burn—alone.”

—Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali (1912)